Impatience
by TheMacUnleashed
Summary: Nothing is ever simple, especially in war. But things are about to get considerably more complicated when two strangers arrive amidst a group of battle droids, bearing knowledge that could change the galaxy. Obi-Wan, Ten, Donna.
1. Chapter 1

"General Kenobi, the clankers have taken down the shield generator." Cody's voice was flat, even more so than it normally was. "Jak's squadron must have been unable to hold them back. We're losing ground fast."

"Do you have an idea of how prepared they were for the attack?" This was unsettling news, indeed. He had brought the platoon to raid one of the minor Separatist bases located on the small planet of Exarius. While neither the base, nor the planet itself, was thought to be particularly significant, they had received intelligence claiming Count Dooku had recently inspected the place, and left behind vital information. Obi-Wan had figured that they could storm the low-security center by surprise, but once they had deployed, the tides had turned against them: Several waves of battle droids had been the ones to ambush him and the troopers.

Commander Cody shook his head. "No word from intel, and the droids don't talk much."

"Of course." He overlooked the battle from his viewpoint; he wasn't fighting yet. Instead he was there to send information to the Clones on the status of the battle, to tell them the inevitable choice: Retreat or engage. "We don't seem to be making much of an impact on their forces."

"The scouts we sent ahead –the ones that reported back to me- said that they've got a lot more of the tinnies ready. Lod estimated that they deployed about a third of the platoon, although that was about half an hour ago. The situation might've changed." He paused. "I haven't heard back from him."

It was that sentence that propelled the Master to his snap decision. "Cody, prep the troops. I'm going to witness this fighting firsthand." He started to crawl out of the small niche from which he'd had a decent view of the fields, but paused; he could sense hesitation radiating off of the clone. "Is something bothering you, Commander?"

"General, the boys will be expecting you to be safe. They'll be worrying if you're out fighting in such a high risk battle. Plus, they'll need briefings on the current status of the droids."

Obi-Wan shook his head; after all these months, couldn't the troopers tell how capable he was of fighting? "You know, I'm very adept at being in the field myself. You don't have to have been trained on Kamino to know how to deal with droids."

"Well, sir, I know that, but the men, well, they worry. Don't want them getting distracted."

Did he have to go through this every time he fought with the troopers? "I appreciate your concern, but nevertheless, I feel as though the presence of a Jedi would be a considerable boon on the field, especially in such a high-stakes battle. I may be your general, and I'm touched at your loyalty, but you are also my men. Your safety lies just as much in my hands, as mine does in yours."

"I appreciate that, commander. Should I join you in the field, or wait to see if the scouts I sent ahead contact me?"

Good question. "Well, Xave is leading the men now, and he's perfectly capable. The chance that the scouts will send another briefing is… slim, but I'd take the risk."

"Yes, General."

At last, considerably later than he would have liked to, Obi-Wan finally stood and ignited his lightsaber. Fighting, while it wasn't enjoyable in the least, even when against droids rather than living creatures, was one thing he could do that made him feel useful while with the Clones. Judging from their dedication, their training had had the same sort of intensity to it. Like him, they could take pain, imprisonment, even loss of their comrades- brothers, really. But the worse punishment was to not be able to do anything, to have to watch impatiently, when you were supposed to be doing some mediocre, irrelevant task.

He ignited his lightsaber. Jedi weren't supposed to feel the sting of impatience, but they were all on edge during the war.

***

Beads of perspiration ran down Obi-Wan's forehead. While the Master's physical condition exceeded that of the typical male Human of his age, after almost an hour on the field, he couldn't think of a single person who [i]_wouldn't[/i]_ be sweating under such circumstances, and that they'd hardly made a dent on the CIS's forces even after –how long had it been since the fighting started? Two, maybe three hours?- wasn't helping him in the least.

He deflected a blaster bolt into one of the countless droids. He was fighting in a different area as most of the clones, and while he couldn't witness firsthand how things were playing out for them, he hoped desperately that they were having more success.

Beside him, Cody fired into the huge platoon. He and a select group of men had joined up with him about a half-hour after he went into the fray. Their objective was to get to the heart of the problem, where the droids were deploying from.

Another bolt flew past him, and another droid was down. Without looking at Cody, Obi-Wan yelled, "We have to keep moving."

"Yes, Commander. Hear that, Kaf, Gage, Als?"

A chorus of, "Yes, sir!" came in response. The group moved quickly, running from behind one of the larger, protective boulders to behind one slightly smaller, but also closer to the droids' rendezvous point.

Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere a blaster bolt flew, striking Obi-Wan on his left side. He had been so focused on the safety of his men that he had neglected to dedicate more than a corner in the back of his mind to his own safety. He stumbled, hearing one of the clones shout; it sounded like Kaf; was he hurt also? The world seemed to swirl, the stormy grey sky suddenly looking bright.

And then, in a location seemingly both far and near he heard a sound, like nothing he had ever come across before: It sounded ancient and yet beyond any sort of technology he knew about, like the wind of a screaming hurricane, and rain pounding against a harsh, sandy desert planet.

As the Jedi Master lost consciousness, the last thing he heard was a door opening and a voice snapping, "What the hell?"


	2. Chapter 2

Gradually, that's how most beings described the process of regaining consciousness. They would come around slowly, starting first with light coming slowly to their eyes, then go on to recall what had happened, and the circumstances under which they had fainted.

_Unfortunately,_ thought Obi-Wan, _I guess I'm not one of the lucky ones. _He had a habit of becoming aware of everything as soon as he was awake, and while such a strength could be useful in certain situations, to have everything rushing at you faster than a ship coming out of hyperspace could be a bit… disorienting.

He was a little ways from where the blaster bolt had struck him. The clones must have dragged him away from the main battlefield.

"General?" Cody kept his voice low, but the Master Jedi could easily detect the urgency. "I hate to rush you back into the world of the conscious, but there's been a slight change in plans."

"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." He winced as pain filled the small gap in his shoulder where the blaster bolt had hit. "Where exactly are we?"

"We've taken shelter behind another one of the boulders, about thirty meters away from where we were when you got struck. You were only out for five minutes, max. And we're, well… the tinnies seem to have forgotten us, but I'm not so sure about the new ones."

"New ones?" As fully awake as could be expected, he crouched down next to Cody.

The scene before them was… bizarre, to say the least of it. The battle droids, looking as confused as machines could, were gathered in a circle around a large blue box. A door was open on its side, although Obi-Wan was unable to look inside. Although there was some writing on the sides, there was nothing to show its affiliation to the Republic or the CIS. And although they had their blasters cocked at it, the droids were not shooting. Apparently, they had no more of an idea as to its intentions as did the clones.

Two people stood in front of the formation. Humans, from first glance. One was a female with red hair, probably in her mid-to-late thirties. She was scowling, though whether it was at the battle droids or at her companion he couldn't be sure.

The companion… male, brown hair, pale skin, probably about the same age as her. They appeared to be arguing, although from here he could only vaguely make out what they were saying: "Out of fuel? How can it be out of fuel? What, you forgot to stop at a gas station before we left?" That was the woman.

As soon as she finished her tirade, the other one opened his mouth, speaking rapidly judging from the movement of his lips and the way he moved his hands, waving them in the air as if to punctuate his words. However, he spoke in a considerably quieter tone, and the Jedi Master was unable to fully hear his words.

Without taking his eyes off of them, Obi-Wan leaned towards Cody and murmured, "Do they know we're here?"

"I don't think so, General. When the woman first stepped out she was a bit… preoccupied, and the man came a bit after. We were in our little hiding place by then."

"Ah. And does this appear to be an isolated event?"

"Well, we've gotten no other word from the other troopers; far as we know; they're still battling against the tinnies. Speaking of which, shouldn't we be getting to the controls? You're the boss, but-"

"I understand your concern, Cody. But this is a bit… unexpected. We should at least stay to find out who they ally with."

"Yes, General."

The Jedi Master refocused his attention on the newcomers. Presumably, the man had been speaking all through the time he had been discussing the events with Cody, although he seemed to be finishing up now. He paused for a moment, and the woman jumped right back in. "Oh, so it's all my fault, isn't it? 'Oh, Donna, don't press that button! You'll get us sucked so far into hyperspace, we could end up anywhere, at any point in time!' Well, I've got news for you, buddy! I-" Abruptly, she broke off, gazing around at the frozen battle droids. She put her hands on her hips; tossed back her bright hair. "What are _you_ lookin' at?"

"Donna," murmured Obi-Wan. A name?

Something was happening; all at once each droid raised their previously lowered heads. In unison, their nasal voices croaked out, "Target deemed: hostile. Orders to fire."

The words made up his mind and he began to stand up, his hand moving to where his lightsaber was clipped to his belt. "If the droids don't want them, then they can't be with the Separatists."

"Doesn't mean they aren't still dangerous, sir. They could still be bounty hunters, or mercenaries." Still, even as he said that the clone, and the men ranking below him, was standing up: Ultimately, he would follow Obi-Wan's judgment.

"Regardless, we will help them. If they are enemies, we will deal with them after the droids. If they're friends, well… then they're friends." He leaped around the boulder, his lightsaber blazing just as the droids lifted their blasters and the redheaded woman let out a small shriek. In a matter of seconds he stood next to the box, distracting the mechanical killers from their original target.

"A Jedi! I thought we got rid of him." They weren't supposed to be able to mimic emotions –that was something unique to sentients, and perhaps protocol droids- but the one that had spoken did a decent job sounding miffed.

"Jedi?! What?!" Donna –assuming that was her name- swung around to stare at him. He didn't meet her gaze, focusing only on the droids who were trying to figure out the best course of action now that they had even more targets.

"Got it!" Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man lift a tiny, cylindrical device. "I was just able to tune in to the droids' frequencies; thankfully, they're all the same-" A blue glow came from the end of the metal object, "…And I figure this'll extend up to a thirty-meter radius…" the light flared outwards blinding the group; it astonished the Jedi Master that such a small object could give out as much power as that thing did.

The burst of power cleared just moments later to reveal a sea of deactivated battle droids. Unlike when the two strangers had first appeared they weren't merely waiting for their sensors to process some new development or awaiting updated commands. No, this was the result Obi-Wan, Cody, and the droids that had aided them were aiming for: Something had blocked the power source, which probably would have been transmitted from an off-planet Separatist base, probably one orbiting the planet.

The deactivation… shouldn't have been possible. While devices could be planted within the areas that contained such controls to block the electromagnetic field controlling the battle droids, nothing had been developed yet that could work simply by being near what you wanted to shut down. Whoever he was, he _had_ used the technology to stop the enemies, but Obi-Wan knew it would be folly to let him get away with such a powerful object.

"Good!" That was the brown-haired man, clearly pleased at how things had worked out. "That takes care of them, then, although you can never be certain of how long it'll last. And I suspect more could be deploying at the moment, so we should head out of here." He glanced around at the small group assembled around the blue box, his eyes landing on Obi-Wan just as he deactivated his saber. "You're the leader, I assume?"

"Yes, I am." They certainly didn't behave like Separatists, Mandalorians, or any other known enemies of the Republic. While certain… _precautions_ would have to be taken, he could sense no reason why they shouldn't bring them back to the ships to learn more about them, especially when factoring in what he had done with the metal… thing, for lack of a proper term.

And, of course, introductions would have to be made. "I'm General Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Commander Cody, with Kaf, Gage and Als. Who might you be?"

The man extended a hand, an older custom practiced mostly on unnoticed, backwater planets. "I'm the Doctor, and this is my friend Donna."

At the mention of her name, Donna focused her incredulous gaze on the Jedi. "Hi."

"Hello." He politely shook the Doctor's hand. "Are you a Healer?"

"On occasion." His brown eyes darkened slightly.

_How strange. _ Obi-Wan didn't voice his thought, of course: Since the time he was just an Initiate he had been taught about the wide variety of differences in people, and very little could make him label someone as unusual. But this man, well… a threat he might not be, but he was definitely something different. "Am I to assume that that," he gestured towards the _thing_ the two had arrived in, "Is your ship?"

"Yeah, about that." The Doctor looked a bit sheepish. "I've run out of… fuel, of sorts, and I'm not sure where I can repower. It doesn't take the traditional kind, either," he added, just as the Jedi Master was about to inquire about it. "Is there any way you could take it off-planet, while I search for a good place to refuel?"

Again… unusual. But, if he had the proper soldiers make sure it posed no threat, then why not?

"That should be possible, although we will have to return to where the rest of the soldiers are. Communications with them are currently down, and the proper transports are with them –probably being blockaded by the droids, at the moment."

"Okay." The Doctor nodded. "Well, no reason why we shouldn't start heading down there now, right?"

"No, indeed." _This coming situation should be… interesting, to say the least._

_

* * *

**Thanks to those**** of you who commented; it's always very appreciated!**_


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm not so sure about this, Master Kenobi." Cody glanced at Donna and the Doctor who walked a short distance away from them. "We still don't know where they're from, or who exactly they are. And how come the brown haired one, the Doctor or whatever, doesn't he have a name?"

"We'll brief them properly once we regroup with the rest of the squadron." _If any of them are left._ Obi-Wan didn't say it out loud, but he knew just the same that it was a paraphrased version of the clone's own worries. They had yet to know the full extent of whatever the Doctor had done, and even so whether or not the help had come before the droids completely overwhelmed the army was questionable.

"They could be dangerous, and they can always lie." Had anyone else said that it would have been paranoia, but it was just the way Cody had been taught to think.

"You'll have to trust me –rather, the Force, on this one." He held up a hand, seeing that the clone was about to protest. "I know you are a skeptic, but you've seen the Force in action numerous times. You cannot deny that there is something, for better or for worse, separating the Jedi from most other civilians."

Cody grunted. "Fine, I'll give you that, General. But there's also something that makes them different. I'm not one of you, but even so, well… call it intuition, but that man is not just some traveler passing by."

"I agree. We will watch him closely." He didn't mention the way the Force swirled around the two of them, clouding their stories to that point where he could only watch them with his eyes, a fact that made him feel limited and cut off from his more spiritual senses.

The clone nodded and cast a suspicious glance in the direction of the two newcomers. "Good."

***

"So, I don't suppose you'd like to explain what's going on here?" Donna glared at the Doctor, and almost walked into one of the frozen… things. She shuddered as her arm brushed against its cool metal: Yes, she had faced quite a few mechanical monsters that would have most of Earth's natives running and screaming, but that didn't mean she enjoyed going up against them.

"Well, it's a bit much…" He glanced at her. "Where should I begin?"

"How about telling me why they're carrying _lightsabers_?" Upon receiving another raised eyebrow from him she snapped, "Oh, don't think I don't know my movies! I might not sit at a computer all day and talk to people about who would win in fantasy duels, but granddad did take me through all those space films."

"Okay, okay." The Doctor raised his hands in mock-surrender. "I'll do my best. First of all, yes, they do carry lightsabers. Or rather," he nodded in the direction of Obi-Wan. "He does. He's the only Jedi in the group, right now. We could meet up with some more when we get back to their ship; I don't know if he's on his own or what. The others, the ones wearing the armour, are clones. Soldiers bred to fight the war."

"That's mad!" Donna stared at the helmeted men. "Don't they mind?"

"It's all they know." He watched them also, looking impassive. "They were born to do this. They don't complain."

She shuddered. "That still doesn't seem right."

"Well." He shrugged. "All's fair in war. But the ethic issues can wait. What you should know is that we're quite far from Earth, and in the past. Translating it to your time, in the 1700's."

"Got that. But could you please explain why there are Jedi? And those… whatever they're called. Droids, I think."

"Why shouldn't there be?" At Donna's glare the Doctor relented. "Okay, there are Jedi because… well, that's just the way it is. It's their culture. And more people can feel the Force, which, as you probably remember, gives them powers. Such as, to see what happens far away, and in the future. Or past. There are few people on Earth like that, extremely perceptive. They often pass off what they see as dreams or their imaginations at work. Usually they're the artists, musicians, filmmakers… your usual lot of tortured geniuses."

"Filmmakers? As in, George Lucas?" At his confirming nod she gasped, eyes growing wide. "You mean those movies are… real? The stories they showed are accurate?"

"Yep. Just records of history. Someone else's history, of course. The details probably got a bit blurred in some places, and a lot of minor events were left out, but for the most part… yep."

Donna glanced at Obi-Wan and the Clones who looked to be engaged in a conversation of their own. "So you mean… we could… tell them? About what's going to happen, Darth Vader and all that?"

"No!" He gave her a sharp frown which softened as her eyes widened and she raised her hands in mock surrender. "Donna, we can't do that. It's like mentioning an Agatha Christie novel to her years before she wrote it. Spoilers. And whereas a story idea might help aid along Time, telling people what's going to happen would have… consequences. Bad ones."

"So you mean we just… watch? And wait?"

"More or less." The Doctor looked up at the sky for a moment and sighed. "I'm not too familiar with this corner of the universe –nine-hundred years, by now I should know my geography!- but with a little research, I should be able to find someplace with Rift activity. Reports of people mysteriously vanishing and appearing, the like of it. That could be credited to a lot of things, of course, but when I hear the name of where it happened chances are I'll recall it. After that we should be able to get transport to that planet, recharge the TARDIS, and be on our way. Depending on what the Jedi do it could take awhile, but we won't be trapped here forever. In the meantime, there should be no harm in learning about the planet they take us to –Coruscant, most likely; you probably remember a bit about it- and meeting some people. Just try not to make it too obvious you have no idea where we are. Nothing about our technology or the Time Lords –we don't exist here anymore than Earth does. And _no_ _spoilers_."

"Yes, dad," muttered Donna, still watching Obi-Wan.


	4. Chapter 4

As the small squadron walked, the sound of blaster fire gradually came into hearing range; clearly, whatever the Doctor had done hadn't extended across the entire battlefield. It had only just started to fade into an annoying buzz when the struggle itself came into view.

Obi-Wan winced; he could have used some more time to prepare for the sight. Although the clones hadn't been completely overcome by the droids yet, they had lost a lot of ground and were now backed against the ships they had arrived in. The bodies of clones littered the ground, the light from Exarius's two small suns glittering off of the white armour as they set in unison. The corpses –if he could even call them that- from fallen droids added to the obstacle course, which the Separatist's forces seemed to navigate with ease. And at least one of their three ships had been rendered useless, judging from the way he could see holes in the hull formed from blaster fire from that distance.

The Master desperately hoped they wouldn't be trapped there. The protection of their transportation had been one of the main objectives. The battle had started at least half a kilometer from them and they had hoped it wouldn't be an issue, but judging from what he saw that had been in vain.

_Even so_, he couldn't help thinking bitterly, _with so many troopers down, we should be able to all fit inside only one ship, should the need arise._

Donna, meanwhile, was staring at the scene below, her hand to her mouth. "Are those… bodies?"

Cody glanced at her briefly, before turning away and shaking his head. "Civilians… War's not as neat as you'd think, ma'am."

Obi-Wan sensed a short-lived flash of anger in her at the words, and she opened her mouth as if to defend herself, but then bit down on her lip and turned away from the clone. He wondered if she had more experience than she let onto with fighting –no, that could wait until they had the proper time to speak to them; they would brief them on, well, everything then. "Doctor, is there any chance you could deactivate the droids like you did previously?"

The man hesitated, doubt clearly written on his face. "Well… we're a bit far…"

"We could get closer." He had no desire to lose anymore men that day.

"No, no, I'll try from here." He removed the device from the pocket in which it was stored, and held it up. Frowning, he pressed one of the small buttons on it. Like before, a bright blue light came out of the end, along with the same, sharp buzzing noise.'

The droids froze mid-action; clearly, they were at a close enough distance for the trick to have worked. Obi-Wan smiled and started moving towards the group of soldiers, who –despite most of them wearing masks, and his being so far away that he couldn't see their faces anyways- he had no doubt were currently perplexed. "We will rejoin with the squad, and then take one of the ships to get your vehicle, Doctor. After that, I assume you will have no qualms with coming to Coruscant with us, to find your fuel?"

He paused again, and then shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? Although… I assume that there'll be additional briefing along the way."

"Yes, but just so we can get to know you better. You're not being held as prisoners, or anything of that sort." And hopefully, they wouldn't be held even when the Jedi Council and the chancellor got word of this bizarre technology; in the course of his life Obi-Wan had learned that one could find considerably more information by being a friend than an enemy.

They walked quickly through the field of droids, who, much like the previous ones, seemed to be thoroughly inactive, causing the Jedi to wonder just what could cause that kind of power outage. Its power source would have to be incredibly strong, and while the ones on the lightsabers could generate a considerable amount, it was nowhere near enough to produce those results. And to have that in a device considerably smaller than the 'sabers? It was… impossible. Day and night researchers across the galaxy worked to combat the Separatist's technology, and he had direct information that they were far from producing anything akin to that.

He would keep a close eye on the Doctor.

***

Donna watched as Obi-Wan called out to the clones up ahead. They waved back and started heading towards them, meeting up not too far from the ships. "General, Commander Xave at your service." He removed his helmet and saluted. "Might I request the latest news?"

"You can, Commander, and I will give it to you. This is," he indicated the two who hadn't arrived with the Republic's forces, "The Doctor and Donna. They aided Cody, Gage Kaf, Als and I previously, and the Doctor was the one who deactivated the droids. Their ship landed not too far from here, and they're out of fuel. The current plan of action is to take the two ships in working shape, and fly out to get their ship. After, we will return to Coruscant, unless there are any objections?"

A collective shout of "No, sir!" arose from the clones.

Obi-Wan nodded, satisfied. "Board the ships, all those of you who were onboard the _Supernova_," he named the ship which had been destroyed during the fighting, "Go on the _Noxus_. Doctor, Donna, you'll be with me on the _Polar_. We'll do a low flyover above your ship; we'll be able to lift it up using some of the devices we have onboard. Will that suffice?"

"Sure, thank you." The Doctor nodded. "Come on, Donna! I don't think you've ever seen the inside of a TT-110 model before! Should be a treat!"

"Yippee." She followed after him, though, without protest.

***

"We're flying over the estimated location now, General Kenobi. Do you see the object?"

Obi-Wan squinted at the ground far below as he leaned out of the ship. "Yes! The blue box-like thing in the center of the droids."

"That's a ship?" Kaf sounded dubious.

"Apparently so. Activate the electromagnets, please, Cody."

"Done, sir. It's being lifted in to the cargo bay right now, and it'll be there in five… four… three… two… one… Completed."

"Good. Close up the port, and let's get a move onto Coruscant."

"Yes, sir! We'll make the jump to hyperspace in about a half-hour."

"Very well." And so with the engine roaring, they started off to Coruscant.


	5. Chapter 5

"Making the jump to hyperspace now, sir. We should reach Coruscant in about twelve hours." Cody, of course, running the ship while Obi-Wan wondered and worried about what to do with the unexpected visitors.

"Good. I assume we were too far for you to send a comm. to Coruscant to alert them of our guests?" He stared outside the transparisteel at the diamond-like stars dotting the landscape, soaking in the image before turning away, not seeing the exact moment when the specks of light became the defining starstreaks of hyperspace.

"Correct. We weren't able to reach anyone worth talking to."

"Ah, well. I suppose the news can wait. Where are our guests now?"

"Cargo Bay, sir. Gage is with them, I believe. Last I knew, the man, the Doctor, was just poking around inside that little vehicle of his, making sure everything was in order…"

_***Cargo Bay…***_

"So that's really a ship, sir?" The Doctor peered out of the TARDIS at the trooper who had asked the question.

"Yep! And she's in working condition, wasn't damaged at all by the unexpected landing. We just need to spend a few minutes refueling, and Donna and I'll be on our way."

"Ah." Gage hesitated for a moment. "Maybe it isn't my place to request such a thing, Doctor, but might I have a look inside? I've never heard of a… a what's-it-called? Tauris?"

"TARDIS." He paused for a moment, thinking, and then shrugged. "Okay, I don't see why not. Come on inside."

The Clone stepped forwards as the Doctor moved away from the ship's entrance. As he walked into it, looking cautious, his eyes grew wider, becoming the size of credit chips. "Wow! It's… bigger on the inside!"

"That's what I said." Donna glanced up from where she sat at the control panel, staring down at the lightless surface.

"It's what they [i]_all[/i]_ say." The Time Lord clasped his hands behind his back as he surveyed the ship's interiors. "A normal reaction, anyways."

"How does it work, though? I've heard rumours that some engineers were trying to develop the technology, but didn't succeed and this is just…" Gage continued staring, in awe of the ship. "…amazing. How big is it?"

The Doctor had yet to answer when another soldier rapped on the TARDIS's outside. "Doctor, sir? Miss Donna?" He peered inside the box, eyes widening at the sight inside, although he managed to refrain from commenting. "General Kenobi wishes to see you, if that's convenient."

"Sure. Donna?" He glanced at her.

The redhead stood up and stretched. "Well, there isn't much else to do." She walked outside, to the cool metal interior of the cargo storage facilities.

Gage followed them outside, watching as the Doctor locked the doors with his old-fashion key –typically, of course, he used the screwdriver, but he was trying to not flaunt the gadget, as he knew the problems that could result from it falling into anyone else's hands. "All righty, then!" He stood to his full height and returned the chain to his pocket. "Let's go meet with the general."

"This way." The officer who had brought the message led them through the hall connecting the bay to the main grounds of the ship. "He's waiting on the bridge, by the controls."

"Yep. Thanks…" the Doctor turned to the messenger, wearing a curious look. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't say it, sir." The unmasked man looked surprised. "It isn't protocol to mention our production numbers, or nicknames, to guests. Since you asked, though, I'm CC-7580, usually called Als."

"_Wait _a minute! You've got a _production number_?" Donna stared at Als, mouth gaping as she went from briskly walking to a standstill in just a few seconds, causing Gage, still following them, to crash into her. "You're a person!"

"Thanks for the vote, ma'am, but I'm also the 7,580th clone of Jango Fett ever produced on Kamino. It would be improper to disregard that."

"Doesn't make it right," she muttered, looking like she was about to go on a full-blown tirade, when the Doctor interjected.

"Als! Fine name. Good to meet you, Als." He smiled, ignoring Donna's clenched teeth and death glare.

"Same to you, sir." He paused at a door they came to, pressing several buttons on the control panel next to it. "The General should be waiting right out here…" It slid open, revealing the bridge, a large area from which the majority of the ship was controlled. Lights blinked from durasteel equipment, and Obi-Wan did indeed stand by one of the button-covered counters, but he was in no way alone. Clones milled around, some talking, others being stoically silent as bandages were wrapped around wounds, or, in some cases, as they were the one pressing bacta patches down on brothers' injuries, even while knowing it was a futile effort and a waste of equipment.

Als coughed quietly as Gage made his way to where the bandages were being passed out to join the desperate uninjured ones as they tried to save lives, despite them having been made to kill. "There usually wouldn't be as many injured ones here, of course… it's just, there wasn't room on the other ship for all the men, and…"

"We understand." Nothing more needed to be said as the speaker and his companion, shocked into silence, wound through the masses of people.

Obi-Wan looked up from where he was quietly conferencing with one of the soldiers and spotted them coming. He said something to the clone, who nodded in response, and headed towards them. "Doctor, Donna. I trust your ship is in good condition?"

"Yes, thanks. Gage was quite helpful."

"Good." He nodded and hesitated, aware of the bleak surroundings. "If you wouldn't mind coming with me, I'd like to ask you a few questions. Nothing too personal," he added, as though fearing a refusal, "just the basics."

"I don't see a problem with that." The Doctor glanced at Donna, raising an eyebrow. "Donna? That okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." She had regained the ability of speaking, though she still seemed flustered at the temporary hospitals set up around the bridge, and she stood just a little too stiffly, the fire in her eyes just a little too bright –warning signs for anyone who knew her.

The Time Lord let it go, though, partially because he knew that he would also be disgusted at the ways of war, had he not possessed the experience he did, and because he knew –well, assumed- she would have enough control to not start a shouting match –technically she'd be the one shouting and the Jedi would be standing there calmly, but still- with Obi-Wan. And, even though he'd never say as much, he did sort of want to see just how he would respond.

Nine-hundred years, and he found himself wanting to watch a Jedi be antagonized, for no good reason at all.

He needed to travel more.

***

Obi-Wan escorted the two into the smaller, personal cockpit, designed to allow one's access to the most basic of controls, should an emergency arise. There were two small chairs overlooking numerous panels, most shining with bright, read lights and dials, and no view out at the starlines surrounding them. "I know this is a bit cramped, but it's more private than the alternative." And, of course, though he wouldn't say it because a Jedi was supposed to be above feeling horror at being in the midst of that much death, this room was free of men who died in silence, who hadn't been trained to scream in pain, and who never would for fear of being weak. He waved to the seats, "Please, sit down."

"That's all right." The Doctor shook his head, clasping his hands behind his back as he scrutinized the Jedi, "I can stand."

"So can I." Donna glared at him and he could easily feel her fury at what she had witnessed, even though her direct Force-signature was blurred.

"Well." He nodded at both of them, attempting to calm the tense atmosphere of the room. "If that is what suits you." Moving along immediately he continued, "I'd like to ask both of you some questions, if you don't mind. I'll record them, but they won't be held against you in any way –after all, you aren't criminals; this is just so I can learn more about you." He paused, gauging their reactions.

He had almost expected more of a refusal than what he got. "I'll tell you what I can." The Doctor seemed remarkably unaware of his companion's emotions, or maybe he was just used to them.

"Well, I don't see another option." Granted, the response wasn't exactly polite, but it was still considerably more agreeable than he had been prepared for.

Obi-Wan took the chance, though, and, pressing the button on the holo-recorder to make sure that their words got documented, began the interrogation. "Your full names, please."

"The Doctor –nothing else. Never has been, never will be." A lie, but the Jedi needn't know that.

"Donna Noble."

"Okay. State your species."

"Human and K'llik, last time I checked –the face of humans, hearts of K'lliks." Donna, unable to stop herself, glanced at the Doctor an eyebrow raised. He ignored her.

She probably would have commented on that, too, except Obi-Wan's questioning eyes gaze reminded her she had a question to answer. "Human, last time _I_ checked."

The Jedi looked a bit dubious, but nodded and moved on. "Your homeworlds?"

"Coruscant, both of us. Haven't been there in a while, though." The Doctor somehow managed to not sound tense as he provided the information which saved Donna from having to scourge her memory in an attempt to recall one of the ones from the movies, or at least from preventing her from having to make up something that sounded sci-fi-ish.

"Is that true?"

"Yep. Born and raised in Coruscant!"

"Okay. Doctor, could you tell me just what it is that you used to disable the battle droids?"

The Time Lord hesitated, then looked directly into the holo-recorder's lenses. "No. No, I can't."

For the first time in who-knows-how-long, Obi-Wan Kenobi was surprised, and it showed clearly. "I will rephrase that: Please tell me what you did to disable the droids."

"I can't. It's an heirloom. I don't know how it works. It just… does things." He sounded remarkably calm as he told his biggest lie yet to the Galaxy's best truth-detector.

The Jedi raised an eyebrow. "Would you at least let me have a look at the device?"

"No." He didn't elaborate this time.

"Doctor, for the purpose of keeping the galaxy safe, I need to see that."

"You can't. It doesn't let everyone hold it; it's sort of… sentient." Not technically true, but oh, well.

Obi-Wan sighed. "We will speak further of that matter when we arrive on Coruscant. Now, what can you tell me about your ship? What model is it?"

"It's a TARDIS model –very old; you won't find any records of it. I can only be fueled in certain places, though; its build is sensitive to the location of a planet. Will I be allowed full use of the Temple's libraries? I assume that's where you're bringing us." The falsehood wouldn't hold up for long, but hopefully by then he would have found a planet rife with the mysterious occurrences –disappearances, sudden appearances, the works- that could indicate a rift in space and time.

"Very well. Are either of you Force-sensitive?" Not a question he had planned on asking, but important nevertheless.

"We've never been tested." Donna, who had been silent for some time, nodded to the Time Lord's testament.

"Of course." He hesitated; wondering if there was anything else left to ask, but could only think of one thing to say. "Just who are you?"

"Donna Noble." That she did answer, at almost the exact same time her companion said, "The Doctor."

* * *

**Sorry for the wait in updates, and for not sending out review replies this chapter -comments are always appreciated, and I'll be sure to get back to them when I have the time.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Doctor, sir? And Miss Donna?" A clone stepped into the cargo-storing area where the two of them had spent most of their time since the interview with Obi-Wan, a fact for which the Jedi had repeatedly apologized for: Though Donna could find no issues with the bay, besides it being a bit chilly, he said that he should have been able to provide better quarters for his guests. It had been almost tempting to bring up the considerably less friendly welcomes she had received during her travels with the Time Lord, but she had figured the Doctor would disprove of that, seeing how paranoid he had been about keeping his identity under wraps before.

She refocused her attention on the clone, one she didn't _think_ they had met with, though it was hard to keep track of the unique scars and blemishes staining each ones' armour, and of the different haircuts. And he hadn't introduced himself, instead continuing on, "General Kenobi wants me to relay that we'll be landing on Coruscant shortly. We're less than five standard minutes away from breaking the atmosphere now. The view's quite good right now, if you'd like to see it. Natives, you've probably been privy to the sight a lot, but…"

As usual, the Doctor beat her to answering. "We'd love to! It's a stunning planetscape to see." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded. One of the view downsides of traveling in the TARDIS was that she rarely got to watch a landing, or see a planet from above, unless there was something specific the Doctor wanted to show her. So, as long as they were stuck without fuel –how exactly _did_ one refuel a box, anyways?- Donna figured that she might as well make the most of it.

"Okay, then. Come with me." The clone led them once again down the path linking the bay to the bridge serving as a hospital, and now, she couldn't help noticing, as a morgue. The bodies were out of the way, and the live ones were gathered around them in a sort of half-circle that further obstructed her view, but she could see the worn-out faces of the ones near them, and how still the ones they mourned for were –for all of their stoicism, even the strongest clones hadn't been able to be completely silent as their wounds were dressed and bandaged.

Donna turned away from the sight, trying and failing to repress a shudder. She hoped the clones hadn't seen –she knew it would cause her to be viewed as a weak civilian, and, if for no others reasons than her pride, she did not want to fall into the category. Judging from the knowing frown from the one leading them, though, he had seen, and she doubted it would be something he would forget.

"Beautiful sight." The Doctor stared directly ahead of them, and for a moment she wondered how he could think_ anything_ was beautiful, with all the pain and wreckage surrounding them, until she too looked up and saw the huge planet looming before them. They were close, _very_ close, to moving through the atmosphere, but even through the gases she could make out large, glinting shapes –buildings, she assumed- and numerous things flittering around, even that high up. And as the ship cut through the atmosphere, momentarily causing a huge, blinding flash, she could see that the flying objects were indeed ships –tiny ones that almost resembled taxi cabs, and also some larger ones, though she couldn't tell their exact size from the far distance she was at.

She looked below, and almost gasped. The scene below was… gorgeous. It was sunset, and the orange and yellow blend of colors illuminated the dozen –or was it hundreds?- of spires and skylines she could see. Her mind spun with it all; even in all the trips to nations far more advanced than Earth, she had never come across anything the size of this.

The Doctor was watching her, grinning. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He sighed, staring down at the buildings the ship rapidly approached. "It's astonishing to think it's all man-made… even the atmosphere." He raised his eyebrow as he casually relayed the information, "That's what you get for pollution."

"I recycle." She continued watching as they drew nearer to one of the most noticeable buildings, a domed structure with several towers around it. "Where're we going?"

For the first time since they had come onto the bridge, Obi-Wan spoke up. "We'll be landing at the Jedi Temple. If you have no objections, I'd like for you to appear before the Council, to relay the story of how you deactivated the droids. Depending on how that goes, you may be asked to have an audience with the Supreme Chancellor. Have you any place to stay on Coruscant?"

"Well, we haven't been here in awhile…" the Doctor hesitated, and Donna wondered if he even knew his way around the planet, much less where they could stay. "I don't think so. We're wanderers, both of us, and we don't have any real estate. Or apartments."

"Very well." Obi-Wan nodded, his face concealing whatever he thought of their lifestyles. "I can arrange something, either at one of the local hotels, or perhaps in the Temple itself. Will you have any problems with that, or any preferences?"

"I don't." The Time Lord glanced at Donna who, knowing what she was expected to do, nodded in agreement.

"Anywhere will be fine. Just as long as it's not, you know, in the slums of the city, or something."

"Of course not." A small smile quirked at the Jedi's lips, though it seemed forced. He turned his attention back to the city before them. "We are, obviously, descending now, heading to one of the Temple's main landing platforms. I expect you're hungry and tired; I'll see to it that you have access to the Temple's facilities."

"Thanks!" For once, the Human managed to speak before the Time Lord, who quickly expressed his gratefulness.

"That's very appreciated, General Kenobi. Now, if you don't mind, could Donna and I just go and collect our items from the TARDIS? We know the way; no need for an escort especially since…" he hesitated and waved his hand vaguely around the busy bridge, "Well, let's just say that it looks like all available people should be helping here. Heck, _I'd_ be assisting the injured, if we didn't have to prepare for the landing."

The Jedi looked suspicious, but sighed and nodded. "Very well, Doctor. We're about to land, though, and making haste would be good. Shall I come get you in, say, five minutes?"

"That'll be great. Thanks!" And with that he grabbed Donna's wrist and practically dragged her off of the bridge, forcing her to hold her tongue, and not demand to know just what he thought he was doing.

******

Obi-Wan watched them go through narrowed eyes. He knew instinctively that the Doctor was lying –he was rather good at it, granted, but the Jedi could still tell, and it made him wonder just what else the man wasn't exactly being truthful about. He had almost asked one of the clones to trail the pair after they had left, but in the same way he knew it was a lie, he also knew that the man wasn't going to do anything harmful. And he did seem to be particularly perceptive; while the soldiers surrounding him were trained to be spies if that was what the situation called for, he didn't trust that without the Force they wouldn't be found out. The Jedi knew he was taking a gamble, but assuming the Force was correct –and though it was clouded, it always was- the man wouldn't cause any harm this time around, and this way he would have no reason to be suspicious of the Jedi.

He turned his attention to Cody, who was in the process of guiding the ship to a landing. "Did the Temple say whether or not anyone would be meeting us at the landing strip?"

"The only ones there that I know of will be the med-teams, but I didn't mention our guests. I figured you'd want to speak directly to the Council about that."

"Yes. I'll comm them as soon as we touch down." Actually, he had been meaning to do it _before_ that made planetfall, but he had been healing some of the more seriously-injured clones, and a surprising amount of time had passed since when he had started healing the first clone, and when he finished the third. He should have been able to do more, but his healing skills weren't nearly as strong as they should have been, a fact he had been reminded of all too much since the start of the war. "Thanks for everything, Commander. You've done a great job on this mission, and I hope to work with you again on my next."

"Thank you, General. I know I don't deserve that –I lost far too many men- but it's much appreciated." His voice and face expressed nothing, but Obi-Wan could tell he was grateful for the words –if not by the subtle waves of appreciation in the Force, then by his own experiences, remembering how he had cherished each compliment from the ones who ranked above him (Qui-Gon, in particular) even if he would have done his best not to show it.

"Right." He turned his attention back to the landing strip. "I will wait until the injured have been dealt with to disembark. I'll also be the one to fetch the Doctor and Donna –you deserve a break, Cody, or at the very least stay with the others."

"Yes, sir." The clone saluted and hurried off to greet and assist the medics waiting outside the recently landed ship.

Obi-Wan turned away from all the injured and dead clones and ducked into the tiny cockpit. Once inside the only place he would have privacy, he activated his personal comm., quickly pressing in the sequence of numbers and letters to reach Yoda. The Grand Master was, thankfully, in the Temple, and he promptly received the call. "Arrived back, have you from your mission, Master Kenobi?"

"Yes, Master, and I expect I'll be briefing you and the other Masters on it soon. However, I've called you in advance because of something else. You see, there's been a change of plans…"

******

"So, I don't suppose you'll tell me why you practically yanked my arm out of my socket?" Donna glared at the Doctor, who was pacing around the cargo bay.

"Well, it'd be rude of me not to. Donna, we need to talk –_alone_. It's surprising enough we didn't get a clone to watch us this time; I'm not sure what Master Kenobi means by that, but…" he shook his head. "Doesn't matter. There are a few things you should know before we step outside. One, do _not _speak ill of Palpatine. That's treason. Two, leave all the technical talking to me. You don't have to be silent," he added as her glare darkened, "just let me be the one to explain our history. It'll be easier to keep the story together that way. Three, the Jedi will probably be offering us quarters. Play nicely."

He stopped pacing and swung around to face her. She was surprised by the intensity on his usually gentle face. "Look, Donna. I would never have taken you here, or to Trekkie-land, or anywhere else you might know, and I want nothing more than to leave. I'd usually be willing to stay awhile, but one slip of the tongue, well, that could change a universe. So remember, above all, even more than not to touch a lightsaber, _no spoilers._ None."

She normally would have snapped something snarky back, but she got the idea that this was not the time. "Yes, Doctor. No spoilers."

"Good." For a moment there was a hesitant, awkward silence, broken with a hiss as the doors slid open, making them both start, surprised. Obi-Wan peered in.

"Ready to leave?" He peered in at them, and Donna wondered if he had heard.

"Yes, General." She allowed the Time Lord to answer for both of them, and they walked out in silence.


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as she stepped out of the _Polar_, Donna's senses were instantly overwhelmed. If the city had looked impressive from within the ship, than being out in the middle of it was… overwhelming. Vehicles sped by her at incredibly high speeds, and the arid air smelled like some sort of fuel, or strong electrical current.

She casually adjusted the bag holding the few personal necessities she kept in the TARDIS, remembering that she was supposed to be from this planet, and should not look as awe-inspired as she was certain she did.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The Time Lord stepped up next to her, staring at the landscape. "Coruscant. Those who can afford it live in luxury, thousands of meters above its floor. Those who can't well," he nodded at the dizzying drop below them, "all the sentients live at least a couple hundred above, but let's just say that's not as nice."

She nodded, too mystified to say anything rude, but still able to feel his impatience, his burning desire to leave this galaxy behind because she might slip up and ruin everything.

Obi-Wan approached them, and she wondered if she was able to feel his emotions as well; if she could, than it was unlikely he was trying to hide them. "We enter the Temple through here. Aids will take the ship for maintenance, and see if it will be used for future battles. I've seen to it that they'll store your ship in here," he led them inside the building, which seemed somewhat akin to a parking garage. It was dimly lit, and there seemed to be very few, if any, artificial lights, but the brilliant twilight poured in through the door, illuminating the ships inside. Donna did her best not to gawk at them, but there were more in that one building than she could ever remember seeing at one time, except perhaps just moments before when she had been watching dozens, or perhaps hundreds of them, buzz around like angry hornets outside.

"Thanks!" The Doctor smiled. "It's a nice-looking place; very high-security, I expect?"

"Of course." As if proving his words, the group was stopped once they reached the door on the opposite side of the building.

A creature glanced up, one of a species she had never seen before. Blue-skinned and with two long head-tails, he –unless gravelly voices and flat chests were the norm for that species- called out, "Master Kenobi, good to see you back on planet! I'll need to see your identification, just for the mandatory regulations, but you should be fine." A questioning look appeared on his face as he glanced at the two non-Jedi. "Are they with you?"

"Yes, Jurokk. Yoda knows; if you need to check with him he'll give them full clearance." From one of his pockets Obi-Wan pulled out a data-chip and handed it to the man, who promptly ran it under what appeared to be a small computer.

He nodded at them. "You're free to enter." A door slid open, revealing a barely-lit hallway, which the Jedi Master confidently strode through. The Doctor was quick to follow him, and she willingly brought up the rear, wondering just _why_ the Jedi seemed to hate light so much.

That thought dissolved as Obi-Wan led them to the end of the corridor and out a previously closed door. The huge room –and that word didn't to it justice; it was more like some great dining hall, or even the Jedi equivalent of a lobby- was illuminated by softly glowing lights that looked to be generated far above them. Several people, all non-humans, milled around, though only a few looked up, and none came to offer greetings. It was beautiful, with large pillars holding up balconies that steep staircases led to, and a large design shining out from the marble-like material that made up the floor. She knew that it had to have been painted on, but it seemed so natural, almost as if the red coloring stained the stones.

"Welcome to the Temple." The Jedi's voice was quiet, almost like he felt the same awe as she, despite having lived there for many, many years. He didn't pause to gawk, though, as she would have liked to, instead hastening to get to an elevator, or at least what she presumed to be one. "I have to meet with the Council before I can offer any definite answers as to where you will be staying, but for now you can remain in my own quarters. Please feel free to use the facilities within; I expect you're tired after the journey from Exarius to here." He shepherded them into the elevator and pressed a few buttons, causing the enclosure they were in to shoot upwards, a sensation that probably would have been decidedly unpleasant for Donna, if she hadn't been so used to bumping around time and space in an often rickety enclosure.

The ride upwards was short, though, and the elevator soon slowed to a stop. Obi-Wan was the first to step out. "My rooms are this way." He nodded towards the left and together the group walked at a brisk pace, passing by numerous doors hinged onto bland walls.

"Here." The journey had been less than ten minutes from the elevator. The Jedi pulled out a data-chip –the same one he had presented to the blue-skinned man to gain him access to the Temple? Perhaps- and pushed it into a small slot on the door that they were standing in front of. It slid back out onto his awaiting hand almost immediately, and as soon as it had been ejected the door opened.

"Go on in." Both Lord of Time and Human obeyed him, stepping inside the quarters where he lived –_supposedly_, thought Donna. It was indeed livable, but so dull she couldn't imagine anyone voluntarily being stationed in them. There was one main room and two linking off of it, and while she couldn't speak for the other two, this one seemed to hold only what could be used to service someone, and nothing designed for comfort. A rectangular table with four chairs was placed in the middle of the room, and towards the back was an oven, or whatever the Star Wars equivalent was; she had never paid attention to cooking devices in the movies. The walls were the same beige color as the ones in the hallway outside, with no pictures hanging on them.

"Nice place." The Doctor was peering around, a curious expression on his face.

"Yeah." She hoped she sounded sincere.

If she hadn't, Obi-Wan did not let on to it. "Thank you. There are nutrition packets in the refrigerator, and you may feel free to use the 'fresher. If you are to stay here, your room will be the one on the left –I'm afraid you'll have to share one, if that's okay."

"That'll be fine."

"Of course." Again, she prayed that the lie was believable. Sleeping with the Doctor? This was not going to be a fun stay.

He nodded, again not letting on to whatever he felt. "If you don't have any questions, then, I'll leave to convene with the Council." He walked to the door and hesitated. "One last thing: Please, do not leave these rooms. Nothing personal, of course –it's just that until we decide on a plan of action, we wish to keep your presence under wraps." Without waiting for an answer he quickly exited the room.

Silence somehow seemed to ring out in the room for a second, before the Doctor turned to her with his usual optimistic smile. "Well! Let's get settled."

******

Obi-Wan hurried through the corridor and back to the turbo-lift; he seemed to be spending rather a lot of time transitioning from one place to another. In all honesty what he wanted at the moment was not to stand before the Council –still an intimidating bunch, though he was now among their ranks- but to go take a quick sonic shower and then just go to sleep. He knew the life of a Jedi was not made up of comforts, or wishes, but that didn't stop the dream from fleetingly passing through his mind.

Once the turbo-lift had brought him directly outside the Chamber's doors he stepped out and paused, just giving himself a moment to clear his crowded mind and hear absolutely nothing, especially not the cries of injured and dying troopers.

Still, the moment was over quickly, and he didn't look back as he walked through the entrance into the great hall where whatever members of the Council were presently on Coruscant would be waiting for him.

******

Donna stepped into the shower, and then realized that she had absolutely no idea how to use it.

Well, _that_ was embarrassing.

She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her waist. "Doctor?" Out in the main room the last time she had seem him, playing gentleman and allowing her to use the facilities first.

He was there in an instant. "Yeah?"

"Um, well, how exactly to you use the shower?"

He stepped around her, tactfully overlooking her nakedness, and glanced at the controls. "Oh! It's a sonic shower. Very useful on planets where they're trying to conserve water; I didn't realize Coruscant was among them. The dirt just vibrates off of you." He pointed to a few buttons. "Press one of those to choose what level you want –the lower the level the longer it'll take- and then just push the big 'start' button, right over here; the yellow one." He pressed a finger against a strangely-lettered switch.

"Start? That says start?" The numbers looked familiar, but not whatever was on the yellow button was clearly not written in English.

"Oh… _right_." The Time Lord bit his lip. "Yeah, I forgot about that. Not good."

"What?" Things had settled down into a sort of unspoken truce between them, but she was getting rather annoyed.

"It's Aurebesh. Their alphabet. It's used in a lot of places, so I can read it, but without the TARDIS, I guess you can't. I probably should have remembered that. Sorry." He looked sheepish, though he didn't cower at her glare. "If it helps, we shouldn't be here for more than a week."

"Great. So I can spend a week in a completely foreign place without being able to read, or to say anything? Next time, _I'm _choosing our destination." She stepped into the shower and yanked the curtain closed. Tossing the towel –whose purposes she wasn't quite sure of, seeing as there was apparently not even any _water_- outwards she called, "A little privacy here, please?"

"Of course." She could have sworn he had chuckled.

******

"Appeared from nowhere, they did, say you?"

"Yes, Master. At the time I presumed the ship had an extremely powerful cloaking device, but I've come to think that isn't so. After all, droids were crushed by its appearance; they had been standing tall in perfect working order just seconds before it came. There seems to be no other explanation but that it materialized on the spot."

"Your troopers will swear by this as well?"

Obi-Wan glanced at the dark-skinned, Korun speaker. "I am not crazy, Master Windu. I know what I saw. But yes, they will state the same thing as I said."

His fellow Master didn't look completely convinced, but nodded and waved a hand as if to say, 'Go on.'

"I was losing consciousness at their exact moment of landing, having sustained an injury treated during the flight back to Coruscant, but I did note that the ship, the TARDIS, was not completely stealthy. It made considerable noise when landing. The Doctor mentioned that it didn't take the standard fuel, so I assume that it must be very old…" he hesitated, thinking of a theory that was slowly developing in his mind, "or very new. I thought the same thing when I saw the Doctor use the tool of his to deactivate the battle droids."

"Very new? You seem to be implying some sort of… time travel." Adi Gallia watched him carefully. "Can you elaborate on that?"

"Again, I offer to you the disclaimer that I am not mad –none of you have met this man; perhaps things will become clearer after you have. But he is different. The Force reacts strangely to his presence, and, well, he just seems to know more than he lets onto. I cannot accurately explain my intuition, I'm afraid."

"A sane man, Master Kenobi has been, in the past! Strange, it is, to think he has gone crazy, hmm?" Yoda banged his ever-present gimer stick against the ground. "Meet with these strangers, we must! Bring here tonight, you will."

The other members murmured their agreements. "We will reconvene in no more than twenty minutes," announced Mace, standing up. "Master Kenobi, do you think that will be enough time for you to prepare your guests?"

"Yes, it should be. Thank you." He hurried out of the chambers, hoping that that would indeed be long enough for him to make sure that the two did not entirely shame themselves before the Council.

******

The Doctor was just coming out of the fresher and Obi-Wan was just coming into the apartment when Donna finally figured out how she was supposed to turn on the stove. "Yes!" She grinned, a nice change from muttering about just why they made futuristic appliances so darned hard to use.

That was before the Jedi Master cleared his throat gently, alerting her to the fact that she was not alone. Upon hearing him she winced slightly, embarrassed, and turned around. "Obi-Wan! Er, I mean, Master Kenobi, I was just trying to cook –never tried these before-"

"Ah." He nodded. "Well, I know you must be hungry –the ration packets they had on the ship weren't very much- but the therma-meal can take some time to cook. If you could, it might be wise to wait. The Council has asked to meet with you today –tonight, rather- and I'd like to make sure you're familiar with the protocol for such a meeting."

"Right. Doctor!" She desperately hoped he would come out; there was something nerve-wracking about the Jedi, perhaps the way his calm blue eyes never should anything, or maybe the was he was so unemotional, she was starting to wonder if he was really one of those droids that were apparently all the range in this galaxy.

In an act nothing short of a small miracle, he appeared. "Going before the Council? So soon? Not that I'm complaining, of course! Oh, no; I'm just surprised you guys are so punctual! Great thing to be, punctual."

"Yes." The Jedi regarded the man as if judging how serious he was. Apparently deciding not to question he continued on, "We have about fifteen minutes before you are expected. The interview will probably be akin to the one I gave you previously, but this time you will be expected to answer completely and honestly. You are more likely to get whatever assistance you require if you are polite, observing all common etiquette. I know you don't have time to memorize them all, but try to remember the names of the other Council members," he proceeded to briefly describe each of his peers, which took almost all of the remaining time.

He glanced up at the chrono just as he had finished describing Shaak Ti and stood, and the two non-Force users stood as well. "It will not be easy speaking before them. You will be nervous, and we are not a particularly comforting bunch. But if you just keep calm and answer honestly, you will be fine. And Doctor," he held the gaze of the one who spoke most often, "I mean honestly. The full truth. We will know if you lie, and we will not go easy on you. Donna, the same goes for you." He turned to the door. "Now, let's go. They will be waiting."


	8. Chapter 8

The Doctor looked calm as ever; she couldn't see a trace of the burning desire to get out of the galaxy that she knew existed as they stood before the Jedi High Council. No, he didn't look nearly as nervous as she was sure she did, as he smiled at the members of the Council, observing them carefully, and being scrutinized right back.

It was Yoda –and come to think of it, he really didn't look like a puppet up close- who broke the silence. "Know, you do, Doctor and Donna, why here, you are?"

It took her a moment to decipher the question, while the Doctor answered. "Oh, of course! Just precautions, I'd assume. We _are_ in the middle of a war, after all. I figure it'd be foolish to not screen all the strangers who popped out into a battlefield." From his easy, conversational tone, one might've thought he was talking about the weather.

Donna did her best to not frown back at any of the Council members, none of who looked pleased in the least.

" You say you 'popped out of nowhere.' Where were you before you came to Exarius?" That was the dark-skinned, bald one.

"We were in the Naboo Lake regions. It's a great place to walk around, though on our salaries, Donna and I could never afford a home there."

"What exactly do you do for a living?" She couldn't even remember this one's name, a male with dark skin and a series of pointed horns on his head.

"Well, I travel. And I take pictures. Holo-graphs, that's what you call them!" It was a rather good lie.

"And I write. Captioning, usually. I'm very witty."

"Oh, yeah. Donna's quite witty." They were on a role, though she couldn't tell if anyone actually believed them.

One of the Masters –definitely not Human, red-skinned and with some kind of head-growths- switched subjects. "What do you want from the Jedi?"

"Oh, nothing too big. I just want to get my ship refueled. See, it's organic –sort of- and it runs off of a natural energy source found in only a few places. I haven't been in this area of the galaxy for awhile –well, except for the Naboo trip- and I'm not quite sure where I can go. I'd like usage of the Archives to find somewhere to go to, and then transportation to get me and my ship there. And Donna."

"Uh huh. Doctor, tell me about the technology you used to shut down the battle droids." Baldy.

For the first time since they had walked into the impressively-built chamber, the Doctor hesitated. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Why not?" A simple enough question, but it posed a huge challenge.

"Well, it's… complicated." Oh yes, more than they could know. "As I told Master Kenobi, it's an heirloom, a very useful one. I've never known where it came from."

"Do you have it with you?"

Again, he paused before answering. "I would say no, but you'd know that's a lie."

"We would." The dark-skinned man seemed to have taken the lead. "Would you let us see it, please, Doctor?" Stated as a request and in a friendly, even conversational tone, but to Donna, there clearly weren't any other options.

Still, the Time Lord resisted. "I'd rather not. It's… precious. I've heard you Jedi don't think much of attachments, but it means a lot to me."

"You understand that our abilities to help you may be limited if you aren't able to offer us any sort of knowledge about yourself, and just what your situation is?"

"Yes, of course." The Time Lord reached into a pocket and pulled out the screwdriver.

She frowned; was he really just going to give it up?

Apparently so. He walked over to the man and handed it to him. "I assume that records of this will reach no ears other than the Jedi's?"

"Probably." He didn't elaborate on just who it was who also might get wind of the two of them as he silently studied the device. Wordlessly he passed it to the wrinkled, green Master sitting to his left who also examined it for about a minute, before passing it on. The cycle continued –minus, of course, the half-dozen or so Masters that were somewhere on distant planets that she'd probably never see- until at last it returned to the bald Master (Pace, Race, Mace? Now she vaguely recalled Kenobi mentioning him, though she still had only the faintest clue what his name was.)

"Thank you for your cooperation, Doctor. We have a few more questions to ask you before you are dismissed. Perhaps the one we should have started out with: What is your name?"

"Doctor."

"Perhaps I'm not being clear enough. Your _real_ name." He drummed his fingers lightly on his thigh, and a burst of annoyance flared up in her. Did he really have somewhere better to be?

"My real name is the Doctor. It is and… and it always has been."

"A name, that is not. Called you by something else, surely people once did!"

"Well," he shrugged, "I've gone by John Smith too, though I suppose that that would clearly be a pseudonym."

"Your resistance is rather unusual." For the first time a different Master, one that wasn't wrinkle-skin or baldy, spoke up. This one had a rather unusual head, skinnier than a Human's and bulbous at the top. "Do you not want our help?"

"Of course I do. But my name is the Doctor, and it will be for the rest of my life." There was something final and firm about that last sentence, more so than his previous words. "Next question?"

There was a moment of silence; she wondered if the group of Jedi were able to converse without speaking. Surely in a world where they all ran around waving laser swords, that wasn't too implausible.

"Very well. If you do not tell us, than so be it." Mace (That _was _his name, right?) inclined his head, before turning to her. "What's _your_ real name?"

She started, surprised. Before then, she had never been directly addressed before, and the Jedi asking the question was rather intimidating. "Donna. Donna Noble."

"Hmm. And what planet do you come from, Donna Noble?"

"Ea- Coruscant. Like the Doctor told Master Kenobi, we're from Coruscant."

"Can you tell me which district?"

_No_. She glanced at the Doctor desperately, and he opened his mouth as if to provide an answer, but a different Master –one covered in off-white and cream hair; one of the odder creatures she'd seen- held up his hand. "The question is for Miss Noble. She will provide the answer, not you."

"Er…" she glared at the Time Lord; didn't he have some psychic trick to help her?

Apparently not. "…the upper district?"

They didn't seem to be buying it. "Lying, you are! Come out of it, nothing good will." Citrus-coloured eyes scrutinized them. "Hurt you, the truth will not."

"Can we just say that we come from far, far away?" How on Earth (Or should she do as the Romans did and say 'How on Coruscant?) could he joke at a time like that? "That would cover it."

"I'm afraid we'll need something a bit more specific than that." Finally, Master Kenobi had spoken up. "Surely you have nothing to fear. Even if your planet is in an alliance with the Trade Federation, we will not hold it against you."

"Sorry, Master Kenobi." He man quickly smiled at the rest of the Council, "And you, and you, and you. I apologize to every member of the Council. But you don't understand. Things are… complicated. Very, very complicated. You seem like a nice bunch of chaps –and ladies- and I'd love to get to know you better, but I cannot answer the questions that you're asking."

"Are you physically unable to?" A dark-skinned woman wearing some sort of bizarre headdress asked that one.

"Well, in all technicalities… no. But you wouldn't like the answers. Trust me."

Again, an uncomfortable silence blanketed the room. This time, though, it seemed to stretch out, enveloping days, years, and centuries until at last a small cough shattered it. "Tell us, you will, your motives here."

"To get home. Trust me, we have no desire to do anything sketchy here, if that's what you're worried about. See, my ship is organic –sort of- and it can only be refueled under very specific conditions. I'm not familiar with this area –I should've brushed up on my facts before going to Naboo, granted- and I need to search through some files to find a place that'll suit it. The Archives will be really useful."

"Right. And you, Miss Noble? What is your intention?"

"What he said. To leave." She realized how rude that had sounded and winced. "I mean, it isn't that you haven't been hospitable –well, we haven't exactly been here awhile, but-"

"Thank you; we understand." Another silence, though this one didn't seem nearly as tense, and then, "We must conference further on this matter. You will wait outside for our decision." He nodded towards the huge chamber's doorway, which slid open as if on some mental command, and revealed the small room they had crossed through to enter.

Wordlessly the pair strode out the doors, into the considerably less-impressive waiting room. It was tiny and windowless, the walls a dull blue, and furnished only by a low, empty table and several straight-backed chairs. She instantly collapsed into one, warier than she had realized. "They stick us out here for who knows how long, and there aren't even any magazines? Yippee."

The Doctor sat into the chair next to hers. "Magazines? You'll be lucky to find a few sheets of paper, that stuff is so outdated. It's all digital now." At her glare he quickly added, "But I get your point. I suppose it wouldn't've hurt them to leave us a holo-novel or two."

"Yeah. So, how long do you think it'll take them?" She glanced northwards to wear the doors were closed, trying to picture what they would be saying.

"Oh, not too long. A few hours, at most." He winced as she glowered at him again. "'Course, I guess 'long' is a relative term. Me, I can wait a few hours. Life's long enough for that."

"Right. How do you think they'll decide?"

"I don't know, Donna. I just wish I could know what goes on during a meeting like this…"

******

"All respect, Master Kenobi, but this is mad." Shaak Ti frowned, showing off the traditional pointed teeth of a Togruta. "They lie, bending and hiding truths. Even the Force shields them. Something is clearly not right!"

"She speaks the truth." The agreement came from Eeth Koth, a Zabrak Master. "It seems as though trusting them would be folly."

"You were correct on one account, though. They are… different. Time travel, that seems far-fetched, but… from far, far away, maybe that would be accurate." Adi Gallia frowned thoughtfully. "That technology was like nothing I've ever seen before. We could learn so much from it."

"Whatever other truths that they bend, there are no doubts in my mind that they are being truthful about coming from far away." For Obi-Wan to deny that would be as obvious a lie as them coming from Coruscant was. "But if we imprison them on no grounds but our suspicions, we will not be earning their trust, and the best way to gain such knowledge is through trust. If we foster good relations, then they will be considerably more likely to offer us information on the device."

"True, but we do not know if their motives are sincere. Maybe if the galaxy was at peace we could chance it, but the likelihood of them being Separatists, or having some affiliation with Dooku exists. It is too high for us to risk trust."

"Hmm, but too high, it might well be, for us to_ not_ support them." Yoda's apparent support took Obi-Wan by surprise. "To go home, our travelers want to! Cautious is the Force around them, but caresses them, it does. Many different ways to serve it, there are."

"Master Yoda, I trust your abilities much more than I would mine, but why can nobody else feel this?" Mace's typical serious expression almost bordered on worried.

"Tainted by your doubt in them, you are! Even Master Kenobi, who supports them, concerned, isn't he? When lose those doubts you do, see them clearly you can."

"Can you really be without doubts?" Depa Billaba voiced the question linking together all of their thoughts.

"When nine-hundred years old you are… yes."

******

Donna tapped her fingers impatiently against the hard, uncomfortable chair. She shot another glance at the digital clock –_chrono_, she had been told it was called- and saw that only half-an-hour has passed. "This is boring."

"I know, but I'm trying to figure out what else you showed learn about the marvelous galaxy we're stranded in." His face lit up. "Oh, yeah! Something like paper is occasionally seen. It's called flimiplast. Can't wrinkle, and erases messages when you're done. Useful thing."

"Flimiplast? Dumb name." Before she could comment further the doors swung open.

Obi-Wan stood in the entrance, wearing a stoic, unrevealing expression. "We have made our decision."

As they rose to enter she whispered in his ear, "I thought this was supposed to take hours. Is shorter good or bad?"

"Depends."

Once again they found themselves in the middle of the intimidating chambers. "Doctor and Donna. Our decision is as follows: You will be granted quarters with Master Kenobi for the time being. We will allow you to search through the Archives and if you find a planet adequate to your needs, we will provide transportation to that place. However, you may not go anywhere unescorted. This is our compromise." And it was one that had not taken them long to reach after Yoda offered his support to the two.

"That's very generous. I accept the terms." The Doctor looked satisfied.

"Yeah, I do too. Accept them, I mean." She smiled at the Council.

Mace Windu stood. "Very well, then. This meeting is over."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/n: Thanks to _Amazing Bluie _for helping me beta this, and thanks to all those of you who have commented!_

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Striding down the hall with Master Kenobi escorting them, Donna and the Doctor drew several curious glances from the myriad groups of aliens they passed. It was strange, Donna reflected, to see that they stood out in such a bizarre place. Surely two Humans weren't unusual in a place ruled by a small green troll?

Then again, the ones doing the staring could see further than just their skin. Was there really an aura –a Force signature, she thought she had heard mentioned; was that the right term?—surrounding them? It was a bit of a disturbing thought, to think that there was a canvas wrapping around her, shifting and showing her emotions.

Before she could ponder further on the thought, though, two people walked up and changed everythingabout her view.

Until that very moment, Donna hadn't really comprehended the future of the galaxy. She had known what would happen, of course, and the thought that so many people would be killed disgusted her as much as she knew it did the Doctor; even if he refused to prevent it for whatever inexplicable reasons. And facing the Council and seeing Obi-Wan, well, that had made her pretty darn sure that this existed, but the future hadn't yet sunk into her.

Now, though, as she laid eyes upon Anakin Skywalker, everything suddenly seemed a lot more real.

"Anakin! Back from your mission, I see. And Ahsoka," he nodded at the young, red-skinned girl standing next to him, "I assume the trip was educational for you?"

She gave him a cheeky grin. "Of course, Master! Isn't it always?"

"Of course." He smiled gently. "I'd like the two of you to meet the Doctor and Donna." He indicated them. "They're… visitors, looking to get home, and they'll be staying with me for a little while."

"Doctor?" He reached out to shake their hands, apparently still a practice in a place this far from Earth, and it didn't escape her notice that she was shaking hands with a killer. "Of what?"

"Oh, this and that," the Time Lord responded, shrugging.

"Well**,**" Anakin nodded as Ahsoka looked over them, no small amount of curiosity in her eyes. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, then?"

"Yeah, probably." Her friend tilted his chin in the soon-to-be rogue Jedi's direction as they walked away. "Nice meeting you, Anakin."

******

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what's bothering you?" The Doctor, having changed into his pajamas, was sitting on the floor on a blanket in the room that they shared, having decreed that Donna could sleep alone in the bed.

"Well, I don't suppose you'll tell me why we can't warn them about the future," she snapped back angrily. "So now you're against stopping mass-destruction?"

"Donna, it's… complicated." He looked weary, as though nine-hundred years of living was slowly catching up to him. "See, Time is… fickle. I've willingly interfered a few… well, that's sort of a lie; actually, I've interfered with a lot of events. Save the Earth here, Queen Elizabeth the next. I prevent things from happening."

"But you won't prevent this."

"_I can't_. If I did, that would change things just as much as if I had hesitated at Pompeii. It's hard to imagine, but if there was no Darth Vader, no villains, Lucas wouldn't have made the movies. And trust me; that would have changed things. They might seem small, but it's the old pebble-in-a-pond scenario: This tiny piece of matter causes so many ripples. That's what it is now."

"So a movie changed the world so much so that you can't stop it without risk of messing everything up? Sorry, but I'm not buying it."

"That's just it. Star Wars isn't just a movie. It's a universe, and its fan base is vast. Do you know how many people wouldn't have met if it wasn't for Star Wars? People wouldn't have been born if their parents hadn't met at fan conventions! This is a reality not only in this little corner of the Universe, and trust me when I say _little_, but on Earth too."

"So that justifies genocide?"

"No. Oh, goodness, no. But it justifies just why we can't change anything. The Universe needs Star Wars. Besides, I'm only talking about the ramifications elsewhere. I've seen this galaxy's future, Donna, and it's brilliant. In fact-"

"Right, I get it." Interrupting wasn't her usual way, but she wasn't in the mood for that at the moment. She stalked over to the light switch, then remembered it was motion-activated, and waved a hand to plunge the room into darkness. "Death and treason it is."

***_The next morning***_

When Donna awoke for the final time, having been woken by violent, clone-and-droid-filled dreams several times during the night, she found that the Doctor had left her alone. Peering through a crack in the door, she saw him sitting on one end of the small, wooden table, opposite from Obi-Wan.

She glanced at the glowing green chrono on the room's wall. It was painfully early for her, just past 600 hours, but sleep seemed unlikely, and unwelcome.

After having gotten dressed, she went outside to face the two men. The Jedi noticed –or acknowledged- her first with a gentle, calm smile. "Good morning, Donna. I presume you slept well?"

"Yeah, of course." A lie**;** but really, was anyone keeping track of how many she'd told since their arrival?

The Doctor turned and faced her, giving her his cheeky grin. "Mornin' Donna. Try the muja muffins; they're really quite good!"

She nodded rather icily at him, but took the advice and bit into one of the breakfast pastries –it was rather good, she thought, sweet with a hint of some spice she had never tasted before.

"Doctor, you'd like to start your research today, correct?"

"Yes, that would be great. Is it possible?"

"Yes. I contacted Master Jocasta Nu, the Head Archivist, and she is prepared for your arrival at any time. The Temple rises early."

"Well," the Time Lord rose to his feet, "I'm ready now, if that's convenient! Donna, I assume you won't want to sit around looking up information about out-of-the-way planets that'll probably end up being useless?"

"Right, though I'll come anyways." She shrugged. "I can't do much else to be useful."

"Actually, if you would prefer, I could show you around the Temple." Obi-Wan shrugged. "I highly doubt you'rea threat, and that would be the courteous thing to do."

"A tour?" Well, she had never been one for libraries. "Okay. Sounds great."

"Good! Doctor, we'll take you to the Archive, and then I'll show you around."

******

"Master Nu, this is the man I spoke to you about before, the Doctor. He requires use of the Archives. This is Donna Noble, a friend of his. She'll be staying with me."

The Jedi examined the two of them with sharp, dark eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." She extended a hand to each of them in turn. "Doctor, if you'd just come with me, I believe I can start you off on one of the computer terminals. You'll be allowed access to the majority of the data; however, certain parts will be restricted…" her voice trailed off as she led him out of their view.

Obi-Wan watched them go before turning to Donna, smiling kindly. "He should be in good hands, and across all the galaxies you will find no more knowledge accumulated in one place. I'd be surprised if you weren't home in a few weeks' time."

"Oh, yeah. I'm certain we will be." _Not_.

"Well, then, let's begin the tour. I'll show you some of the meditation gardens first, they're truly lovely, and then you can see the cafeterias and normal facilities."

"Sounds great to me!" Donna put on an enthusiastic smile.

They walked together in silence, giving Obi-Wan time to ponder over his thoughts: Was he doing the right thing?

He didn't think that the two were dangerous; he certainly wouldn't be showing Donna some of the more secretive areas of the Temple, but he was fairly confident that she wasn't a Separatist.

However, he had lied. Showing visitors around was not a common courtesy, not by any means. The Jedi tended to be private, and it was a sort of unspoken rule that the Temple was a special place, certainly not a tourist attraction.

The reason he was doing this was because of a philosophy taught to him by his late Master: You learn more as a friend than as an enemy. There were secrets orbiting the pair, secrets as large as moons and just as important. Something was urging him, telling him that he _must_ know what she did, for the sake of the galaxy! The Force wouldn't tell what, wouldn't even hint at the details, but the presence of something big hung in the air, thickening it. And whatever it was, they seemed to be aware of it, and from the heated argument he had heard the night before, the Doctor would almost certainly not break, and his companion would be trying half-heartedly to keep it as well.

It was not the Jedi way to take advantage; he knew that well. But this was war, and the rules were different.


	10. Chapter 10

"Do tell, Doctor;what exactly is it that you're looking for?"

The Time Lord in question hesitated as he settled down near the computer terminal. "Well, a planet**, **I guess. I need to look for specific happenings; unusual solar energies, for one thing, or records of mass disappearances –those sort of things often happen when living near a fuel source, like the one I need."

"Ah." Jocasta nodded, her expression serene despite the unusual nature of his response; clearly, she had heard it all in her days as Head Archivist. "I assume you have used the LAB-004 class terminals for research previously?"

"Oh, yeah." Not for about a hundred years, but his memory was good.

"Very well. Will you be needing any help?"

"Ahh… probably not. I'll shout if I do**,** though!" Oh, wait. Shout… bad choice of words in an Archive.

Thankfully, she was kind enough to overlook that. "That would be just fine, Doctor. I will be nearby." _Watching you_. She didn't say it, but it was something they both knew.

After Jocasta had picked up her elaborately embroid**er**ed robes and strode off to some other area of the humongous, data-chip filled room, the Doctor began his research. Typing in the password Obi-Wan had provided him, he poised his fingers to tap against the durasteel terminal, but stopped in the middle of lifting his hand**.** The computer-like machine had processed the information quicker than he had seen before, and now

displayed a line of text –Aurebesh, but thankfully he wasn't _too_ rusty on that— across the screen.

::_Welcome, visitor. You have accessed the Archives of the Jedi Temple under code ****134224. Please select a function to begin._::

He selected, out of many, the basic 'Search for Keyword' button and typed in, "Time-Space Rift."

_::No results found.::_

He frowned. "Mass disappearances on planets."

_::5,228,034 results found.::_

This was going to be a long day.

******

"These really are quite pretty." _For a bunch of plants._ Although she despised libraries even more and would much rather be wandering around the Temple with Obi-Wan than doing tedious work with the Doctor, Donna had never exactly had an interest in botany. **"**What sort of trees are those?"

"They've been given the nickname Bothan Bushes –I don't think anyone really knows what their real name is. They grow like weeds across Bothawui, but are very hard to grow anywhere else. This one hasn't even fully flowered yet, and it's still beautiful, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah." It wasn't bad looking**;** cream-colored with tiny green buds dotting it**. **She supposed that those were the start of the flowers Obi-Wan had just referenced. Of course, she had no idea what a Bothan, or Bothawui, was, but who said she needed to admit that?

"Hmm." The two of them stood immersed in an awkward silence and surrounded by their own thoughts until Obi-Wan spoke up suddenly. "Donna, how would you like to watch two Jedi duel?"

"What?" The offer caught her completely off-guard, but she suddenly realized what she was being given the chance to witness. "I mean, of course! Wow, that'd be awesome!" Again, she had no particular passion for dueling, but the Jedi were supposed to be good, right? And this way, she'd definitely have something to tell her grandfather about if –no, when- they returned home.

"Good." Obi-Wan pulled a small device, tinier than the sonic screwdriver, out of a pocket. "I'll com Anakin. He should be free**,** today."

"Okay." She watched and waited as he fiddled with the gadget, causing a small blue hologram to flicker up out of it.

"Anakin? Are you up for a duel today? It's once in an Ylesian moon when we're both here with time on our hands."

She could just barely see Anakin's mouth flicker upwards into a smile. "That would be great**,** Master, as long as it's quick. I have a meeting with the Chancellor at eight-and-a-half hundred hours."

Obi-Wan frowned. "With Chancellor Palpatine? Why?"

Anakin shrugged, "I don't know, Master. He requested to see me last night; I got the message this morning."

"Well." He hesitated before responding, "I suppose, then, that we'll just have to see that it doesn't take too long. It's just past seven-hundred now; I'm sure we could fit one in."

"Great!" Obi-Wan's onetime Padawan looked rather enthusiastic, "I'll see to it that Ahsoka and I meet you in the main arena in, say, twenty minutes? It'll do her good to watch us duel."

"Fifteen minutes will be fine. I'll see you there." He ended the transmission, frowning slightly.

"Something wrong?" He certainly didn't look too happy.

"Oh, nothing that should concern you." Obi-Wan offered a slight smile, one which ended up looking more like a grimace. "I'm just surprised that Anakin has grown so close to Palpatine. Come, we should start heading down to the arena now; it's pretty far from here." He started to walk at a brisk pace, causing her to hurry after him.

Palpatine… _oh_. The Sith Lord.

She didn't have a clue when it would end, but Anakin's descent to the Dark Side was all ready beginning.

******

The arena was crowded when they arrived, with Jedi of many species mingling around. Donna heard the words "Anakin" and "Master Kenobi" more than once; it appeared that word had gotten out about the duel.

She wasn't sure which one of the two or three dozen aliens spotted them first, but less than a minute after their arrival the group had parted**. **A path through the center to one of the large, blue mats spread out on the floor was cleared, and it became obvious what everyone was watching. Anakin stood in the center, doing some sort of complicated, aerobic dance.

"Blast it," Obi-Wan muttered, "he got here first."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not necessarily; it's just that Anakin is much more of a performer than I am. I should've realized that there'd be so many people watching us. Ah, well," he gave her a rueful smile, "nothing wrong with a large audience. Ahsoka's down there, close to the front, and she's alone. Why don't you wait with her?"

"Sure." She maneuvered her way to the Togruta girl as Obi-Wan walked up to the mats.

Ahsoka gave her a friendly glance as Donna cametostandnext to her; then focused all her attention back on the arena. "They're about to begin," she murmured excitedly.

It did look that way. Obi-Wan, who had tossed aside his cloak, strode to the center of the pad, where Anakin was finishing the moves he had been doing. "You're early, Anakin. Hardly gives me time to stretch."

He grinned. "You're late."

"No, just on time." The Master reached for the saber on his belt. "How about a few standard Djem So moves to warm up? It's useful to try a different style now and then."

"Very well." They both ignited cerulean lightsabers, although Obi-Wan held his tilted above his head, while Anakin kept his in a two-handed grip in front of him.

It was Anakin who struck first, the look on his face ofincredible concentration, despite this only being, in Obi-Wan's own words, a "warm up." For just being that**,** it was rather intense**;** Anakin doing most of the striking, and Obi-Wan blocking his blows at a lightning-fast speed.

They had been working on their energetic dance for almost five minutes when the Master broke the pattern and struck back at Anakin, rather than just shielding himself from the parries. He, of course, easily bounced the blow off of his saber's blue beam, but it showed a definite turning point in the mock-spar, now that both were making an equal attempt to win.

In the end, neither did. The warm-up came to a conclusion when Obi-Wan stepped back and raised his hand, thumbing the power switch on his lightsaber. "I think we've taken the practice far enough, Anakin. Why not show our guests what we can really do?"

"Good idea, Master." Anakin grinned and also shut down his saber, before taking several large steps forward, just as Obi-Wan backed up, allowing them to meet exactly in the center of the large training mat. Both bowed to one another before reigniting their lightsabers.

Donna could feel the tension building as they held the position for several seconds, until the air was so stiff with anticipation, the arena so silent, that it came as a shock when they moved away, leaping into the air**. **The duel had begun.

Anakin was clearly the more aggressive one, as he had been in the practice fight, but that wasn't to say Obi-Wan couldn't hold his own. He serenely blocked his onetime apprentice's strikes, and practically flew from corner to corner of the mat, encouraging Anakin to follow him with all the speed he possessed.

What surprised her most was how quiet it was. All the other Jedi seemed to be waiting with bated breath to see what the outcome would be**;** which didn't startle her in the least**. **She was acting just like that too**. **But what surprised her was that neither of the men fighting were shouting out insults, preferring to spar with only their swords. And neither of them seemed to be exhausted or having difficulty breathing in the least**.** Even as the duel dragged on, Anakin kept the look of harsh, intense focus on his face just as Obi-Wan kept the same, peaceful look he usually had on.

They had lasted so long like that**, **Donna wasn't quite able to catch what the first sign was that the tides were turning in Obi-Wan's favor. Gradually, he had started to be a bit more aggressive, causing Anakin to stumble where before he was graceful, and keeping him from rushing around the arena quite as much.

Its end was abrupt; strange considering how fluid and beautiful the actual fight had been. It appeared that Anakin had been unbalanced for a second and his former Master had taken advantage of that, though she couldn't really be too sure, since they had been moving far too fast for her non-Force sensitive mind to follow.

Anyhow, the conclusion came with Obi-Wan angling his blade over Anakin's neck, his saber lying unpowered a few meters away. "Do you acknowledge defeat, my knighted Learner?"

"Well, there isn't much else I can do." Anakin smirked. "You have bested me once again, wise Master."

"Yes, I have." He shut down his lightsaber and helped hisfriend to his feet. "And I believe you have a meeting to rush to?"

Anakin glanced at the chrono hanging on one wall and uttered what wasprobably a swear. "I'd better get going, Master."

"Indeed." Donna watched as they bowed twice, once to each other and once to the crowd of cheering Jedi, before walking off to the showers.

They were so friendly now, so much like brothers. Howis it so much could possibly change?


	11. Chapter 11

The Doctor wasn't sure when he began tapping his fingers on the terminal's side, but he became aware of it at exactly eight-hundred-twenty-hours. That was the third time he'd glanced at the clock since coming in –though he hadn't since seven-hundred-twenty-hours, which was quite an achievement!- and the first time he became annoyed at the gesture.

He made his fingers stop**…** and then start up again. Fascinating. Was he starting to emulate Human gestures now? Was the last of the Time Lords becoming extinct? Could it be…

"Doctor, are you sure you don't need any help?" Jocasta Nu poked her head out from around a huge shelf containing more data chips than he would care to count, interrupting his train of thought.

"No, thanks. I think I'll be fine." No, he wasn't becoming another species, even if he had been mingling amongst them for almost as long as he could remember. He was just looking for an excuse to stop doing his research, which he had made some strides in.

He turned back to the terminal, thinking, _only a few thousand more results to go through!_ when a name and headline caught his attention. He sat up a little straighter. "This could be something…"

_******_

"So, what's it like to be a Jedi, what do you call them… Poddiun?" After the duel ended, Obi-Wan had disappeared through a small door into what Donna had assumed was the Jedi equivalent of a locker-room to, as he put it, "freshen up." Anakin had gone with him as well, an urgent look on his face as he rushed to prepare to meet the Chancellor. She had been left with the young Jedi girl, Ahsoka, the one she had never heard of before.

"You mean a Padawan? An apprentice?" Ahsoka gazed curiously at her.

"Yeah, that." She nodded.

"It's pretty good, I guess. Actually, scratch that, it's really great." She paused a moment before a slightly mischievous look came over her face. "How about for every question I answer, I can ask you one?" Seeing Donna's surprise, she shrugged, "I hang out with clones a lot, so I got a firsthand account. You and this guy just burst into the middle of a battle? Weird."

"Well…" she really_ did_ want to learn about the Jedi culture, if for nothing but to have some interesting stories to tell when she arrived home, and she could just lie if the questions got too prying. "Sure, but I get to start. What _is_ it like to be a trainee in a group of monks?"

"You sound like a journalist." Ahsoka frowned, pondering it. "Well, first of all**,** we're not really monks. I mean, I suppose that there are some Jedi who just spend their life thinking about the Force, or who just find good things to do without fighting, but mostly we do whatever the Council tells us. Negotiate, fight, escorting refugees… you get the picture. It's sort of hard to **say**, but I think that does the job. And as for being a trainee, well," she shrugged, "that's my life. I love being an apprentice, but really, I don't know anything else; and I wouldn't want to. It'd be too… normal. And it isn't easy, but I don't think it should be. I mean, I can't remember any of my teachers ever saying that life as a Jedi would be easy."

A faraway look that had entered her eyes as she spoke was gone as suddenly as it came. "I'd say that counts as one answer. My turn! Where were you before you came to the Temple and why?"

Though it seemed like a lifetime ago, Donna could still vividly remember. "We were visiting a friend of the Doctor's. A novelist."

"Oh, really? Like, with holo-books? Who, a famous one?"

"Yeah, holo-books. And no, not famous." Not unless Agatha Christie had an influence all the way over here, anyway. "An old one. My turn again. What would you do if you left the Jedi Order?" Just in case there was a chance she'd survive her Master's rampage.

"I don't know. I don't think I could do anything. I am just a Jedi. Maybe I'd go back to Shili, that's where Master Koon found me, and try to start a life there." She eyed Donna. "Should I be thinking about it?"

"No, of course not! I was just wondering." Could a Padawan tell when she was lying?

"Okay, then. Now my turn… hmm… do you _like_ the Doctor? You know… _like_?"

"Oh, no! No, no way. Definitely not. He's a friend, just a friend." She shuddered slightly. Did they seriously appear that way?

"Okay, okay, I was just wondering." Ahsoka didn't look as though she believed Donna in the least. "But if you say so."

"Well, then, how about you and Anakin?" She was probably playing dirty now, but oh, well. She would only be here once; might as well have some fun until their universe got turned over.

Surprisingly, Ahsoka took the question seriously. "I don't think Anakin exactly has eyes for me, if you know what I mean."

"You mean you know –you think he's in a relationship?" Close, she had nearly slipped!

"He's not subtle." She shrugged. "I don't think anyone else wants to think he might be breaking the rules so they don't notice, but I've broken so many myself that it hardly bothers me. Now, what do you know?"

The question caught Donna off-guard. "What?"

"You know something –something you aren't telling us. It's obvious." Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "We're _Jedi_. If you can't trust us, who can you?"

No one, a philosophy she had more or less picked up while with the Doctor. "I don't know anything –anything relevant, I mean! The Doctor and I are travelers. We got lost, and we're trying to get back. That's all."

"That's some of it," she countered, her eyes still keen and thoughtful, "but not all. I know you're trying to get home, but the question is**…** where were you before?"

"At a friend's place. I told you that before. Now, my turn." She thought for a moment. "Do you ever… do you ever think about what'll happen when the war is done? To the Jedi**…** and to you?"

"No. Well…" she hesitated, "Well, sort of. Not about the Jedi Order. We'll always go on. But about me." She suddenly looked sad. "I'm one of the only remaining Padawans in my age group, you know. War isn't fun. Our population has been cut almost in half since it all started."

Donna knew her revulsion showed, and she didn't try to hide it. "Including the… Padawans? The children?"

"Yeah." Ahsoka shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it. "Including everyone. It's okay, though, I guess. We're not supposed to have any attachments, not even to this life. What happens… happens."

She was still dumbstruck and had yet to be asked another question when Anakin briskly approached them, with Obi-Wan trailing a bit behind him, moving at a much more relaxed place. "Snips, let's go. I want you to be back at the quarters catching up on schoolwork while I meet with the Chancellor. I know I said we'd spar, and we will," he held up his hand as she opened her mouth to protest, "if there's time."

"Yes, Master." She heaved an overly dramatic sigh before turning to smile at Donna, "It was nice to talk to you!"

"Likewise." She tried to smile back.

_******_

The Doctor started to smile as he scanned through the newly entered phrase. Though relatively little was known about the planet he was researching now, what he could find seemed to match his needs. Widespread reports of time-slips… a high disappearance rate… the reports of several natives who had casually mentioned relatives that had gone and come back through the 'light'…

Then he saw an interview, one that appeared to have been with the chief of one of its tribes. "You talk about the Rift? That **is** the name of the Light. It is beyond us; we do not understand it… but it is there."

[i]_Yes[/i], _he thought, grinning as he saved the basic information and location about it to an empty data-card, _this will work_.

******

"Donna?" Obi-Wan sounded concerned. "Are you okay?"

She stared at him, still trying to comprehend what she had just been told by the Padawan. _We're supposed to meet them and move on? Just like that?_

_I'm sorry, Doctor._ "Master Kenobi, I have something to tell you."

******

Obi-Wan frowned and tried to ignore the glimmer of hope that sprouted up inside him; was this what the Force had been insisting he needed to know? And if so, why did Donna look so pale? "Why don't we go back to my apartments and we can discuss it there?"

"Okay." She nodded, but the look on her face, a combination of worry, fear and slight revulsion**,** did not change.

******

Anakin uttered an obscure curse he had picked up during his time as a slave of Tatooine. One did not want to keep the most influential man in the galaxy waiting, which is what he was doing at that very moment.

Palpatine's red cloaked guards nodded as he flashed them an ID card and wordlessly stepped away from the doors leading into the chancellor's chambers. They swung open on some silent command Anakin had never really understood and revealed a gently smiling Palpatine.

"Anakin, my boy," he stood up, graceful for a man of his age, "always a pleasure to see you. Come, have a seat. We have some matters to discuss…"

******

"Doctor?" Jocasta Nu glided up to his side as he removed the data-card. "Have you found what you are looking for?"

"Yes, I have! I'll just be going back to Master Kenobi now, if that's okay." He placed the card containing the vital information safely into his pocket.

"Of course! I'm glad the Archives were of use to you. Perhaps I should escort you back to his quarters?"

"Oh, thanks but that isn't necessary. I know where they are." Not really, but with the screwdriver**, **he could easily track the location of the TARDIS key Donna always had with her.

"Well, if you believe you will have no trouble finding them, I'll let you be." The head 'librarian' smiled as she backed away.

He turned to the doors. She had let him off too easily, he knew, and she would surely trail him on the way back to make sure he didn't try to enter any restricted areas, or do something else equally foolish. That was fine with him, though.

Now**…** how to subtly stare at a screwdriver?

******

"Well, I know we haven't been too open with you… and I know you must be wondering why…" This was harder than Donna had anticipated. "But trust me, there's a reason. A good reason, I guess."

Obi-Wan sat silently, patiently, waiting.

"And, I wasn't going to tell you, and neither was the Doctor, but…" she gestured helplessly, "…talking with Ahsoka; that was weird. It made me realize… we aren't what we seem, Obi-Wan. We aren't."

"Go on, Donna." He smiled encouragingly.

"Do you have anything I could drink?" It was a random thing to say, but she needed more time to think, and would buy whatever minutes she could.

"Of course!" Obi-Wan stood immediately from the seat at the kitchen table he had taken. "Water, milk, or tea?"

She had seen the milk that morning. _Blue_ milk? No, thanks. "Water, please."

******

"I've heard some rumors –oh, don't look so surprised, my boy." Palpatine chuckled gently. "I'm not deaf, you know. I've heard about some visitors to the Temple –strangers. A man in a suit and a red-haired woman? Is that true?"

"I'm just surprised it spread that fast." Anakin gave him a wry smile. "Obi-Wan just met them a day or two ago. Doctor, and Donna. I was introduced to them…"

The Chancellor leaned in, a look of intense interest on his face. "Go on, Anakin, go on…"

******

"We know things. Important things."

******

The Doctor paused, his hand hanging over the door chime; he had no means to enter into the locked quarters.

He didn't know what, but his intuition said something was wrong.


	12. Chapter 12

"Out of nowhere, you say?" Palpatine leaned forward slightly in his chair, eyes keen and interested. "Or rather, they say**.**"

"I was skeptical too, but that's what I've heard. And clones don't lie." Anakin shrugged. "Some sort of genetic programming. If they can, it's a mutation."

"Right, right, of course. And the technology! Has your Master mentioned anything about that?"

Anakin shook his head, "As I mentioned before, I haven't really had time to speak with him. I did hear one of the clones mention it –something that can apparently mass-deactivate droids." He smiled at the Chancellor, a look of excitement shining in his eyes. "Imagine what could be done with this! Whatever it is, it could be the key to defeating the Separatists."

"Indeed! I should see if I can arrange a meeting with our travelers, they seem as though they would be… _interesting_ people to talk to." He glanced at a small chrono hanging in one corner of his crimson office. "Oh my, Anakin, I'm quite sorry, but I have a meeting in just a few minutes**. **Shall I see if I can arrange for us to talk further at a later date?"

"Of course. It's been a pleasure, Chancellor." Anakin bowed, one of the few formalities he took around his friend.

Palpatine watched him walk out the door, many thoughts and plans swimming through his mind.

New developments weren't always good at first, but with a little time and planning, perhaps they could be turned that way…

******

"Donna!" The Doctor pushed open the door, as quickly as he could to make up for the previous moment's hesitation. "Is everything okay?"

It certainly looked that way: No blood or 'saber burns that he could see, both were still alive**…** and was that tea he could smell? Both his companion and the Jedi wore equal looks of seriousness, and there was definitely an air of intensity hanging in the room, but nothing seemed too out of place or wrong.

"Doctor!" Donna practically leapt out of the seat she was in, looking almost… guilty. "Back so soon?"

He decided to ask her later what was going on. "Yep! Master Kenobi, those Archives are fantastic! Beyond what I would have imagined. I think I've found an appropriate planet; could I review my findings with you?"

For a moment it seemed as if the Jedi might object, if the way he was glancing back and forth between Donna and him was anyindication, but in the end he nodded. "Of course, Doctor. Why don't you pull up a chair, and I'll get you some tea?"

"That'd be great, Master Kenobi! Thanks." The Doctor sat down next to the seat Donna had just reclined back into, and raised an eyebrow at her. What was going on?

Her stoic expression revealed nothing, as she shook her head slightly.

Oh, well. He would find out later.

******

Obi-Wan reached into a cabinet and pulled out a third mug, simple and generic, identical to the ones he and Donna were using. Grasping the handle of the pot he poured some of the steaming liquid into it, thinking all the while.

Donna hadn't been lying, of that, there were no doubts. She really _did_ know something, and there was almost no chance that she knew something that important, and the Doctor didn't.

So, why did she want to tell him, and why didn't the Doctor? He wasn't a bad person, or at least he didn't seem like one. Surely the Force would've warned him if he was some sort of spy! No, he seemed to be fairly sincere, just a man looking to get home.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but he knew that some part of the equation was missing, and an important one at that.

******

Having poured the tea and setitin front of the Doctor, who took it with a grateful "Thanks," Obi-Wan was ready to hear about the visitor's findings.

"I assume you recorded the data that you got in the Archives?" He pulled out a data-pad, ready to read the information.

"Yep, I have it right here." He presented a small object, which Obi-Wan promptly inserted into the data-pad. "Let's see what we have here."

It came up almost immediately, and Donna and the Doctor both leaned forwards to get a better view. "Jabiim?"

"Yes, that's it," the Time Lord nodded. "Relatively civilized world, if you could call it that. Humans came there a few thousand years ago, and have been telling stories of this mysterious… thing that surrounds it, up in the sky. They say it's energy, mostly, and time." At Obi-Wan's dubious look he quickly added, "I know how strange it sounds, but trust me. It's what I'm looking for." In fact, this might have been his imagination at work, giving him hope, but he thought that he could recall hearing about Jabiim from somewhere. Other than the rift it seemed like a pretty insignificant place –good ore mines, though those would probably run out soon, but that was about it. How else could it have come up in his learnings?

Obi-Wan, meanwhile, was still studying the holograms being projected intensely. "It's got a fairly strong electrical field around it," he pointed out. "That would make it a bit more difficult to land, though I still wouldn't call it undoable."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I hate using up so many of your resources when you've already been far too generous, but that field is another indicator that there could be a Rift –something I could use to recharge the TARDIS, that is."

"Well, I'll bring it up with Master Yoda. Are you sure that this place is the one you're looking for? Jabiim is a dangerous place; trips there aren't taken lightly. The natives aren't too friendly towards the Republic, after the battle that had taken place there. Our forces got out with relatively little damage, but many of them were killed, and seeing as it happened less than two years ago, I can conclude that they've yet to forgive us."

"I know it's dangerous, and I'm sorry." He did look rather apologetic. "But I'm as sure as I can be without actually being there."

"Very well, then." Obi-Wan deactivated the data-pad, causing all of thehologramsto disappear in an instant, and stood. "I'll comm. Master Yoda, and see how soon we can meet to discuss this." He picked up his communications unit and quickly tapped in the number for his friend and fellow Council Member.

By no small miracle of the Force, Yoda was waiting for him and activated the connection as soon as he was contacted. Without preamble he said, "A planet, our Doctor has found, hmm?"

"Yes, Master**;** or so he thinks. Jabiim."

"Jabiim**, **hmm**?**" The master widened his citrus eyes, "A bloody place, that is."

"I agree. Could we perhaps talk further in person? It seems as though this is a conversation that could take awhile."

"Correct in that, you are, Master Obi-Wan. Meetnowin the Council Chambers, we must! Bring Master Windu, I shall**.** And accompany you, the visitors must."

That surprised him; he had not thought the Doctor and Donna would be present. It was not a point worth debating, though, so he merely nodded and bowed. "We will be there soon, Master. May the Force be with you."

"And may the Force be with you, and our guests." He bowed back, and the transmission ended.

Obi-Wan turned to the visitors. "Come with me."

_******_

"Master Kenobi, Doctor, Donna." Mace's greeting was curt; he was notone for prolonged conversation. "You've brought the information on Jabiim?"

"Right here." Obi-Wan withdrew the data-chip from a pocket and passed it over to the Korun Master. He promptly inserted it into a data-reader, which would allow them to display the information in a much wider way than with the small readers designed for personal use only.

"Tell us, you will, Doctor, what has drawn you to Jabiim." Yoda didn't look at the Time Lord when he spoke, choosing instead to focus on the holographic blue images, but his words were made no less intense for that.

"Well, for one, it's got a lot of funky electrical activity around its atmosphere –that's often a sign, weird as it sounds. And the natives have recorded a lot of strange happenings**:** flashes of lights," _[i]time slips, people disappearing and other things reappearing before their eyes,[/i]_ "you know, the works. And I've just got… a feeling." Normally he wouldn't have risked playing that card, but he figured that such "feelings" must've been pretty common in a Temple full of well-trained Force-sensitives.

"That isn't a lot, Doctor." Mace frowned. "They have high reports of… unusual occurrences. Is that at all related to your desire to go there?"

It was a blunt question, and it deserved a blunt reply. "Yes. Yes, that did partially make me think that this could be the place."

"Ahh. A mysterious place, Jabiim is; suited for a mysterious man!" Now Yoda did turn and scrutinize him. "Talk, you are ready to, Doctor**; or **perhaps you, Donna Noble?"

He hesitated, and felt Donna tense up beside him; so she hadn't told Obi-Wan**,** after all! That was one less weight he had avoided thinking about**.** If she was still tense; well, there had to be something to be nervous about then, right?

"Well…" Even he was surprised when she spoke; she certainly wasn't dutiful and that was one of her greatest qualities**. **But she rarely went against direct orders of his, unless they were really, really dumb. Which these ones weren't! "Master Kenobi, I know I began to say something to you before, but I just realized that what we know is irrelevant. It's about this place far, far away, on this tiny, insignificant planet. Ra… Rax…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius." Which was over a hundred thousand light years from here, not that that mattered. "Huge storm's coming that'll devastate the planet. Trust me; we heard it from a very reliable source."

None of the Masters looked like they believed him, but at least Mace gave a skeptic nod. "Very well. We'll be sure to contact Raxa…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius. Thanks!" He gave them his best smile.

"Debate this matter further, we will. Wait outside, you two may." Yoda nodded towards the door, about to dismiss them, when a buzz came from outside. A hologram of a young alien appeared. "Masters? I hate to disturb you, but there's an incoming comm. from the Chancellor. Do you want to take it?"

They glanced at each other, before the dark-skinned Master answered. "Yes, Padawan Anore. Send it in."

He did, and it appeared first as a voice, which shook Donna all the way through**. **Here he was: the Sith Lord; the crux of everything about to happen, standing before them looking almost… grandfatherly. "My dear Masters, how good it is to see you! I'll have to keep this short and to the point, I'm afraid, but here it is: Have you received any sort of… visitors lately?" He laughed, and although the frozen statue that was Donna Noble knew only she and the Doctor knew his secret identity, she had to wonder if it sounded evil to anyone else's ears. "I like to keep up with the going-ons, you see."

Again, a group glance was exchanged, and again**,** it was Mace who spoke. "We have a few newcomers, yes."

"Well, then!" His surprise seemed so forced to her it wasn't even funny. "Could I perhaps… meet them? Today, tonight? Nineteen-hundred hours would work well for me."

"Of course." The flat reply was so automatic it almost frightened her, and she realized that what the Chancellor wanted he would get.

The question was, what did he want from them?


	13. Chapter 13

_A/n: My apologizes for the lack of updates! I really appreciate all the comments since the last chapter, even if I don't have the time to respond to all. Regular posting will hopefully resume come the end of November._

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A grim silence hung over Obi-Wan, the Doctor, and Donna, braiding them together in its bleakness. They walked through a hauntingly empty corridor, devoid of all the rich, myriad life that had been present at the Temple previously**.** Obi-Wan spoke, not sounding entirely pleased. "You have the right to know that I'm not too happy with the latest turn of events."

"You don't like Palpatine." Somehow, the Doctor managed to maintain a calm front, even after having been told that they were to meet with a –no, _the_- Sith Lord.

"I wouldn't say that. He is a…" the Jedi Master looked like the Doctor's screwdriver had gotten wedged down his throat, but he continued on, "…a talented leader. The Republic is lucky to have him. I'm just surprised that he's taken such an interest in you two. I had thought of you as primarily Jedi business. To see the Chancellor**,** possibly the Senate, get involved in it is… worrying." Under his breath, almost to the point where Donna wondered if he knew he spoke out loud**,** he murmured, "He's been granted so many emergency powers all ready…"

"Hey, it's no big deal." The Doctor shrugged, so casual a gesture that she thought maybe he didn't know who Palpatine was. "We'll meet, we'll greet, we'll go –to Jabiim, I hope!"

"That's appreciated, Doctor. And I do believe you'll be off to Jabiim soon –it's about a day and a half worth's trip, but that shouldn't matter, correct?"

"Oh, no. As long as we get there, I'll be fine. We can wait, right Donna?"

"Of course. It's all about waiting." She wondered if he got the more subtle meaning in her words, something she knew Obi-Wan missed, if not for the reason that he had no idea what was to come, but because of the slightly curious, slightly confused look he gave her.

"That's good to hear. You have quite a while until you go before Palpatine –there's not much to do, if you've been on Coruscant before. I would suggest sightseeing, but if you're used to the place…"

A quick glance –they were still together in this, after all, even if they were having more disagreements than most cats and dogs—and it was decided. "Well, we really haven't been here in some time," the Doctor admitted sheepishly, "So if it wouldn't be a bother…"

Obi-Wan's lip quirked up. "Not at all, Doctor, not at all."

_******_

"Well, that was quite educational." The Time Lord shot Donna a grin. "Nine-hundred years old, and I can still learn something new! Strangest street performance I've ever seen, and I have seen a lot."

"Fire swallowers aren't that uncommon." She leafed through the small pack of clothes she had brought off of the TARDIS, looking for something appropriate to wear while meeting the Galaxy's leader, while the Doctor straightened his tie.

"Well, yeah, but how often do you see themwith translucent throats and numerous openings through which the fire spouts? Trust me**, **I've beenall over the major and the minor galaxies, and I've never seen anything quite like that." He grinned. "Didn't you enjoy it? C'mon, I know you did!"

"Okay, okay, I did," she admitted, slightly reluctant. In fact, she had loved all of it –the bird's eye view of the city, the bizarre products being sold in the indoor park, and of course, the performers. Still, though, it seemed strange –wrong, in a way—to be enjoying herself so much, while a universe was hurtling towards a dramatic shift and they were to meet with the man who was to cause said shift. "But aren't you, you know, a bit worried? Meeting with the Sith Lord and all that?"

His smile disappeared. "Yeah. Yes, I am _very _worried. Nothing is exactly falling into place like I'd hoped, not that I'd really expected it to. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, Donna! Star Wars. Trust me, we'll never be here again –enjoy it while we're stuck. And know, well… we'll both just need to be careful with Palpatine. Very, very careful."

"Will he be able to… to tell? That we're from far, far away?"

For all his previous optimism, he was brutally honest. "I don't know, Donna. I don't normally deal with Force-sensitives of that level, and…" he siaghed and shook his head, and abruptly changed the topics. "What were you going to tell Obi-Wan?"

She shrugged; that seemed distant and unimportant now. "Does it matter?"

That alone answered the question and he sighed, but for one reason or another didn't push too far with his reprimands. "Donna, there isn't much I can tell you that I haven't said before. But… it's suicide for this galaxy to tell them. Trust me."

"I do." An automatic, though unquestionable, reply. "It's just that… I talked to Ahsoka today and," she shook her head. "Doctor, what happens to her? To the ones we pass in the halls and see hanging around? What happens to them? Why aren't their stories told, too? Why don't we remember them?"

Again, he didn't have an answer for her. "I don't know."

_******_

"There are a few things you should know before talking to Palpatine." Mace Windu was the man lecturing the two as they sat in a cramped airspeeder, dressed in the finest clothes they could fine. "One: Under no circumstances are you to insult him. _Never. _Two: Be respectful. Maintain eye contact when appropriate; use honorifics when you need to. Never, ever be rude. Three; we'd prefer if you didn't discuss Jedi policies –you are not representatives of us, and if the Chancellor has a question he'll have to ask directly. And fourth, finally, if you know something, tell _us_. The Chancellor's agenda frequently conflicts with ours –and, it seems, yours. I ask that you trust me on this matter."

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about there. You're Jedi. Of course we can trust you." The Doctor waved a hand lazily. "And don't be concerned. Donna and I've faced far too many things to worry about a little meeting with the Republic's leader like this."

"He's right. We have faced plenty." Not, of course, enough to keep her from being concerned about what was soon to happen, but there was no need to mention that.

"Of course, you may have, but there is nothing like meeting with Palpatine for the first time." Obi-Wan spoke up, looking grave. "It is… intense. We wish to see that you are prepared."

"We appreciate your concern." For once, she spoke up rather than having her jaw clamped tightly in worry.

"Thank you." Obi-Wan gave her a half-smile just as they pulled up in front of the large building that housed the Chancellor's office. The two Jedi got out first, stepping onto the platform that jutted out into the air from the building's side, and presenting identity to a droid waiting before them. It beeped what sounded like an affirmative to Donna, and her assumption was proved when Obi-Wan beckoned for the two of them to get out.

They were almost there.

_******_

The hallways that the group of four walked through, led by several tall figures cloaked entirely in red that Donna assumed were Palpatine's guards, were not at all like the ones at the Temple. These were harsh, crimson and unwelcoming, artificial light hitting bizarre, silvery sculptures at odd angles and reflecting to form menacing shadows. The place was designed to be intimidating, and it worked.

At last they halted, or at least the Jedi, the Doctor, and she did: One of the guards muttered a "Wait here," and walked through massive wooden doors. It was only a heartbeat before he stepped back in. "You may enter, Jedi and newcomers."

"Come." The two men with more experience led the way into the Chancellor's office.

If the halls were intimidating, this was… consuming. Scarlet walls surrounded them partially, and the night view of Coruscant which she had first thought of as striking now looked threatening. And again, sculptures lined the room, their shadows dancing outwards like jumping demons.

"Well!" She almost jumped, becoming aware that there was a person sitting behind the humongous desk and realizing almost in the same instant that this was the Sith Lord, the one destined to bring down this galaxy through use of pawns and puppets.

His dark, almost black, eyes scanned over her and the Doctor. "These are them, my good Masters?"

"Yes, Chancellor. I offer you our greeting." Although Obi-Wan was the speaker, both he and Mace bowed.

Palpatine gave their gesture a nod of acknowledgement as he stood up and approach them. "You're the Doctor, I presume." He extended a hand. "How good it is to meet you." They shook hands and the Chancellor smiled slightly at the response of "Likewise," before moving on to her. "And Miss Donna Noble. A pleasure to have made your acquaintance." Habitually she extended a hand to meet his weathered, bony one but was unable to force her throat to open up and greet him. Instead she smiled at him, although it probably ended up more as a grimace than anything else.

"Please, please," he waved a hand to indicate two, plush, red chairs that looked like blood-soaked thrones, "take a seat. Master Kenobi, Master Windu, would you care to step out for a moment? Just so we can have a friendly discussion; I'm sure you understand."

"Of course." They bowed again and backed out the doors, leaving them alone with virtually no way to defend themselves against a Sith Lord –besides the Doctor's wealth of knowledge, which was impressive, granted, but she wasn't sure how well it would stand against the Force.

She suddenly realized that the Doctor had sat down and was glancing at her expectantly. Blushing, she quickly did the same and together they sat through an awkward moment of silence, broken by the Sith Lord. "Thank you, Miss Noble." He took a seat himself and steepled his fingers, and for another moment there was silence. "Perhaps you would like some refreshments?"

They replied in unison, a jumble of "No's" and "No, thank you's."

"Very well, then." Palpatine inclined his head in acceptance of their decision. "If that is the case, then perhaps we should begin our talk. I'm sure you understand what a busy man I am."

"Oh, yeah, Chancellor. We're all on bought time." The Doctor offered him a sympathetic look.

"Good. I hope your understanding, then, will allow you to realize why I must speak this frankly." The expression he had been wearing previously, that of a kind, if aged, man vanished, replace by one of cold intensity. "Where are you from?"

"Coruscant. The other side of the planet, though; we're rarely in this sector." She was glad the Doctor had spoken because she wasn't sure she was capable of doing so at the moment.

"Come now; we both know that isn't true. I assure you, sir and ma'am, I will know if you are lying, and I will not like it." He leaned forward. "Honesty, however, that will get you results –and good ones, for that."

"You don't know we're lying." Donna was astonished she had the guts to speak up, but the desperate times were calling for desperate measures, and if they called for her to manage to channel her normal, unyielding personality and face off against one of the most dangerous men she and the Doctor had come across, then so be it. "How could you?"

Palpatine raised an eyebrow, surprised at her outburst. "I have… a talent for reading people, Miss Noble –that's such a mouthful. May I call you Donna?"

"No." She felt fury bubbling up inside her and glared at the man, knowing all the while that glowering at the most powerful man in the known galaxy here [i]_probably_[/i] wasn't a good idea.

Not that she cared.

"Do you realize who you are talking to?" When neither of them answered he gave a gentle chuckle, "I take that as a yes. You are aware how far my power reaches, and yet you're so disobedient –insubordinate, even." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "It's been quite awhile since anyone dared to behave like that before me."

"Your power is small in the galaxy," said the Doctor quietly, a note of intensity ringing in his voice.

"And how would you know that?"

There was no reply, and again, he smiled. "You two are intelligent people. It makes me wonder… just how much you know."

Donna had to restrain herself from snapping the answer to him, calling his the names he deserved. In fact, if it weren't for the Doctor's hand pressing down over hers, a wordless warning, she probably would have done just that.

And as it was, both stayed speechless, letting a chrono's gentle ticking count the seconds and fill in the empty silence, until the Chancellor was forced to speak again. "You know, there are no holo-recorders in here. None. As it is, you could attack me right here, right now, and I could defend myself –and no one would know otherwise."

"We aren't defenseless." That bit did get a reaction, if a mundane one, from the Doctor.

"Ah, yes. The glowing blue device, the one that shuts down battle droids, and can't be more than ten centimeters long." He raised an eyebrow. "We could talk about that, if you'd rather."

"Actually, I wouldn't." The Doctor shrugged.

"Then do tell, what would you like to talk about?" He kept the look of an amused grandfather, playing with and humouring his grandchildren.

"Does it matter?" This, it seemed, was appropriate for her to say. "You called this meeting. What say do we have?"

"Well, when you look at it that way… perhaps it doesn't. Perhaps I _should_ ask all the questions –in fact, perhaps it would work best if I just got to the point." He leaned forward, the intensity in his dark eyes growing by the second. "How much do you know?"

"We both know a lot of things, in a lot of different categories. Donna here could tell you about growing up with her beloved grandfather and two loving parents. I can tell you about, er, boarding school. I'm a photographer. I know a lot about photography."

"As a person whose made a living captioning photos, I could tell you a lot about the art of… captioning," she added helpfully, remembering their previous lie to the Council.

"Don't take me for a fool." Palpatinesighed. "So uncooperative… but then again, perhaps I was not specific enough. Tell me, Doctor and Donna-" the use of her forename didn't escape Donna, and she deepened her glare, "-what do you know about the war? Perhaps… about me?"

"You were Naboo's senator. You succeeded Chancellor Vallorum, and ended his family's dynasty. You've been granted a startling amount of emergency powers. You are not too fond of the Jedi- or at least, you haven't been too quick to grant them the proper equipment and men needed to fight the war."

"Hmm. All correct responses –except for the last one. Tell me, how do you know that?"

"Well, isn't that common knowledge?" The Doctor frowned and shrugged.

"Perhaps it is, my good Doctor. Perhaps it is." He smiled and stood. "That will be all, thank you."

They all but bolted for the door, where the Chancellor's voice forced them to pause. "Actually, one more thing. Did I hear someone mention that Jabiim was your planet of choice, to help you to get home?"

A pause, in which they exchanged a nervous glance, before the Doctor reluctantly replied, "Yes."

"Hmm, very good." He smiled again. "You can leave, now. I think we're done, though it was nice meeting you."

"You too, Chancellor, you too." A sense of forboding followed them out the massive doors.


	14. Chapter 14

"They've been in there quite awhile." Obi-Wan stared at the closed doors, wondering if the meeting was going well, and if the Doctor and Donna would come out as close friends with Palpatine, or as public enemies number one and two. And quite simply, he hadn't a clue which would be worse for the Jedi, or worse for the two visitors.

"I disagree. The Chancellor has been known for lengthy meetings when someone interests him. With that in mind, a relatively short period of time has passed since they entered." Mace glanced at him, no emotion in his dark eyes. "You're letting your worry cloud your judgment, Master Kenobi."

"Perhaps you're right. Still, do you deny being a bit apprehensive yourself, Master Windu?"

The dark-skinned Master hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head. "These days, there is very little to release the tension felt throughout the Jedi ranks. There is something stirring in the Force. Still, you must rise above your fears, and keep yourself clear-headed."

Obi-Wan released a calming breath as he relaxed his tense muscles. "Agreed." They sat in silence for a moment, each mulling over their own private thoughts, before Obi-Wan broke the silence once again. "Have you any idea the likelihood of getting our friends here-" he nodded to the closed doors, "-to Jabiim?"

"Well, you will**,** of course**,** know when an official decision had been reached, which it hasn't been at the moment. However, I do not see how it would be a problem. A minor inconvenience perhaps, since I assume that you would wish to escort them there, but not really an issue. We could probably spare a ship, although it wouldn't be a top-of-the-line model, and potentially a few troopers as well, just to be on the safe side."

"I'd appreciate the extra coverage. I know that Jabiim isn't exactly a hotbed of action, but-"

"Masters Kenobi and Windu, I do thank you for bringing these two for a meeting on such short notice!" The doors to Palpatine's office had swung open, and he was walking outside now, shepherding out the Doctor and Donna. "That must have been difficult to arrange."

"We live to serve the Republic, Chancellor. The arrangement was of no difficulty." Mace smoothly rattled off the dutiful reply as both men stood.

"That's kind of you, Master Windu. And needless to say, I was quite taken by our guests." He clapped the Doctor on the back and smiled. "I, of course, don't feel them to be threats -I trust that you would know already if I did! In fact, I have only one last thing to ask of you: Would you see that you tell me before you escort my friends to where they need to be –Jabiim, I believe it is? I shouldn't like to see them leave without me bidding them a proper goodbye."

"We would have informed you, anyway." Obi-Wan knew Mace well enough to recognize the lie in his voice, and only hoped that the Chancellor didn't pick up on it. "It shall be no problem to have you see them off."

"And I thank you for that." Palpatine smiled at them, and nodded as they bowed. "I suppose I'll see you in good time, then?"

"Hopefully." Obi-Wan kept his voice composed, and his face neutral, trying not to speculate as to why both Donna and the Doctor looked nervous. "May the Force be with you, Chancellor."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be, Master Kenobi. I just hope that it will be with you as well."

******

"How did the meeting go?" The four people were back inside a cramped air-taxi, and Obi-Wan was eager –not an emotion befitting of a Jedi, but sometimes his curiosity overcame his training, as much as he wished it wouldn't—to know just what had happened behind the chamber's huge closed doors.

"It went…" the Doctor glanced at Donna, who just shrugged and peered out of the window, seemingly fascinated by the Coruscanti landscape below. "…well, I guess.**.. **I mean, it could've gone worse. He seemed to think we were lying, for some reason."

"Us lie? Never! That was quite the unfair judgment of us." Obi-Wan couldn't tell if Donna was being sarcastic or serious, which was quite a feat on her part, seeing as he was usually fairly good at reading the emotions of others.

"Did he ask you anything that was at all… unusual?" Mace was proceeding cautiously; Obi-Wan was all too aware that a question asked in the wrong place could break all relations that they currently had with the two guests.

"Unusual? No, I wouldn't say that." The Doctor shook his head, tapping his chin with a finger. "Just where we were from, our names, the like. Not too different from what you asked us, actually."

"You're certain? Nothing suspicious?"

That was pushing it. It would do no good to give Donna and the Doctor the idea that the Jedi were anything less than entirely trusting of Palpatine –actually, it was probably too late to have them thinking that, but at the very least they should be under the impression that the Jedi respected the Chancellor's judgment, as well as his privacy.

"Nope. Like I said, he just wanted to know who we were, what we knew about the current events –as though anyone _wouldn't_ know that there was a war going on—and we just told him what we told you."

The Force was calm in the air-taxi, as cramped as it was, and Obi-Wan could tell that Master Windu felt that too. There was no reason not to believe that it had been a simple interrogation, one which had brought little, if any, new happenings to the Chancellor's awareness.

And yet, it didn't seem that... no, he _knew_ it wasn't that way. 'Simple' was not a word one frequently used around Palpatine. Something important had to have happened at that meeting, but what?

_***Chancellor's office –approximately half of an hour past the departure of the Jedi…***_

The man was powerful for certain, like no doctor Palpatine had ever met before, but that was the only thing he could accurately deduce from their little talk. It was impossible to tell if he really was a healer of some sort, or if he had taken on the title as a joke. With the way the Force buzzed around him, it was entirely possible that he was more a destroyer of worlds than a healer. What an odd thought...

As for the woman… insubordinate thing. Palpatine's lip curled upwards in a sneer. Who did she think she was?

Actually, he really should be honest with himself. Donna Noble was a powerful woman, perhaps even to the heights of her beloved Doctor. She was crucial to something; some time, some place, but it couldn't be here and now. The Force would have told him they were coming if she were a danger to his plans, after all, and yet they had appeared without a clue. Because of that, he doubted the insolent woman would be important in the upcoming battle.

But if not here, then where? And when? Was he to say that they were from another time, another future? The Force could do many things, but that was impossible; simply impossible…

Palpatine snapped out of his thoughts, starting to breathe heavily. He straightened himself and let the moment pass. No point dwelling on Donna Noble's fate right now, or rather, what it was supposed to be. She knew too much, as did the Doctor –the Force had made that clear to him as its darkness twisted around him. Perhaps the Jedi couldn't see that, but that would be their loss, and his gain.

He picked up his private com-link, and pressed a familiar code in.

Dooku was prompt –he had been taught long enough and hard enough to know that his Master was not to be kept waiting. "Yes, my lord?"

"Tell me, Tyranus, how many troops have we available?"

His temporary protégée didn't need to think about it. "Our factories produce thousands of droids daily. At any given moment, you would have enough on your hands to fill a dozen of Coruscant's sectors."

Possibly an exaggeration, but there would still be enough, he was sure. "And tell me, how soon can they be deployed –under decent supervision, mind you; the job I have in mind cannot be accomplished by droid alone."

"Where are they to be deployed, my lord?"

"Jabiim."

******

"Well, that could've gone worse!" The Doctor grinned at her. "In all, he isn't the first crazy, genocidal dictator that I've spoken to, and he won't be the last."

"Yeah, but how many of the other ones could move things with their minds and probably know what we were thinking? That's got to give the Chancellor an edge**.**" Donna searched through the small bag she had brought from the TARDIS, finally coming across a clean pair of pajamas.

"True. Although I don't think he knew what we were thinking. I'm not defenseless without the TARDIS, you know." He tapped his chest. "Two hearts, Time Lord, and all that? I have a few built-in defenses. And you're not so weak yourself."

"You bet I'm not!" She glared, and he raised his hands in mock-defense.

"Hey, I'm agreeing with you!"

"Of course you are. Do you think we'll be out of here soon?" She was heading towards the bathroom to change, but the question had been on her mind all throughout the meeting. "That other Jedi, Mace**,** or whatever his name was, didn't mention it."

"Oh, I think we will be. Don't worry. But in the meantime, Donna…" his face turned serious, "we don't talk. You know this. Things will happen that shouldn't."

"We can't just let genocide be committed! Aren't we partially responsible if we stand by and watch the Jedi die?"

"Not everybody dies. Some live." His face begged her to stop asking questions. "Look, I want to help them, but we can't. It'll mess things up big time in this galaxy –the major government is failing; they need the renewal. And the Jedi won't last much longer even if we stopped Order 66. There's so much dissent rising in the Order! These people are repressing their emotions; trying to fight a war unaffected. It isn't going to work out too well."

"I won't tell." Or she would try not to, at the very least, unless something big fully convinced her that the Doctor was wrong.

"Thank you. It's not easy, I know –every bone in my body wants me to help them end the war as soon as we possibly can—but sometimes, it isn't worth it."

"Yep. G'night, Doctor." He was already dressed for bed, and she was tired as well, and would probably sleep like a log, if the worry didn't keep her awake.

"Good night, Donna."

******

Obi-Wan was sitting on his sleep-couch, ready to fall into a peaceful slumber as well. The day had been a full and busy one, and he wasn't optimistic enough to pretend that the days to follow would be any better.

The ring of his comlink told him he was right about being busy, but wrong on a more current issue: The day wasn't over yet.

Master Yoda looked up at him as the hologram flickered in and out of existence. "The interview went well, Master Windu tells me." There was no time for preamble.

"And he is right, Master Yoda. Neither the Doctor nor Donna seemed to have any complaints about Palpatine. It sounds as though it was a standard meeting, nothing out of the usua**l**."

"Hmm. A good thing**, **perhaps that is. And more to come, I think. Meet us in my personal chambers, you will?"

"Yes, Master. I'll come down there right away. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Master Kenobi." Yoda ended the transmission, and Obi-Wan clicked off his comlink, pulling his boots back on. It took him only a minute to make himself presentable, and in almost no time at all, he was leaving his apartments.

His hand hovered over the handle of his door. Should he leave Donna and the Doctor alone? It was fairly well established that they weren't threats –but then again, he had felt that way about Dooku as well…

But no, they weren't Dooku. Hopefully, they wouldn't get into any trouble sleeping; and if they did, well, he could only hope that the Force would warn him ahead of time.

******

To Obi-Wan's surprise, only Mace and Yoda were in the Grand Master's personal apartments. Perhaps he should have expected that, given that they were hardly big enough to hold the three of them, let alone a full delegation of twelve, but it seemed odd that they were the only ones there.

"Taken, a vote was, while you were escorting our guests tothe Chancellor's. Time to waste, we have not. Something is approaching, I feel. A storm, hiding in darkness." Yoda's eyes widened to startling widths, as they always did when he was stressing something. "Take those visitors to Jabiim tomorrow, you will."

"One moment, Master. A storm?" Obi-Wan frowned. "I do not doubt your abilities, but if it's that great, why have I yet to feel anything?"

"Far off, it is; a great distance from us. But needed are the Doctor and Donna Noble, if it is to be prevented. And a darkness moves nearby, as well. Know little of this one, I do, except for a danger it holds, yet no place for them."

Obi-Wan frowned before nodding. "Yes, Master. I'll be more than happy to escort them to Jabiim. Will I be alone?" It would do him well to have troopers to back him up if anything happened, although, Force-willing, it should be a simple matter of transporting them and then seeing them off.

Mace spoke up. "You will be escorted by a small squadron –smaller than I'd like, I'm afraid, but we can't risk the loss of too many troopers. You should make the journey as quickly as possible, since I fear that we will feel the effects of a missing Jedi and missing troopers, as small a number as they may be. Our ranks are thin. It may be quiet now, but Dooku's forces are primed for an attack. It's only a matter of time."

"Of course. I'll make the journey as quickly as possible. What ship am I to take?"

"You'll be in the _Ragnork._ It's a few years out of date, but was built as a military ship disguised as a freighter. It's seen only one battle, I believe. You will be in good hands with it." Mace gave him the docking information. "Will leaving tomorrow morning at seven-hundred hours be convenient for you?"

"Yes, that would be fine. I'll see that the Doctor's ship gets stored within it –seeing as it was disguised as a freighter, I assume it will be large enough to hold it?"

"Of I'll see to it that the troopers meet with you. May the Force be with you, Master Kenobi."

"May the Force be with you, Master Windu, and with you, Master Yoda." He nodded at the blessing from the short, green Master, and was about to leave when he remembered something. "What about the Chancellor? He requested to see the Doctor and Donna before they departed."

Apparently this had occurred to the two other Masters as well, for their eyes held no surprise at the question. "He will be informed –moments before you leave. I expect that even if the interview went well, it would still be wise to keep them apart, seeing as we don't know what his motives are. But do not worry yourself about that. We will deal with his anger, if there is any."

"Very well, then." Obi-Wan departed from Master Yoda's apartment, satisfied –things were looking as though the Force was shining in his path, and now he could finally get some sleep.

******

Obi-Wan was up even earlier than usual that morning, having endured only a restless sleep rather than the peaceful one he would have preferred. He was sitting at the table and eating a ration packet when the Doctor walked in, having gotten up only about half-an-hour after him. "Good morning, Doctor? Would you like one of the ration packets for breakfast? I know that they aren't much, but-"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Master Kenobi. You've done so much already, and besides, there are many worse things to eat than ration packets! And they're convenient too; just add water and go. Now, where did you say they were?"

Obi-Wan got one out for him and insisted on preparing it –yes, it was an astonishingly easy thing to do, but he wasn't that bad of a host.

After that was done, he turned to the man, ready to tell him the news. "Doctor, you'll be pleased to know that the Council has secured transportation to Jabiim for you. We leave this morning –you might want to wake Donna up soon to tell her that. It's a few days' journey, but not too bad."

A smile split the Doctor's face. "You did? You got it? That's fantastic! Thanks so much, Master Kenobi. Will you be coming with us?"

"Yes, and several troopers as well, for… security reasons."

"That's...amazing! I can't thank you enough. In fact, I'll go tell Donna now!" He raced out of the tiny dining unit, leaving an amused Master in his wake.

******

The Doctor woke Donna up at an inhumanly early hour. "Donna! Donna? Are you up?"

"What does it look like, sunshine?!" she mumbled as she rolled over and glared up at him, then noticing he was absolutely beaming. "What? What happened?"

"Get dressed for travelling, Donna, 'cause we're leaving for Jabiim in an hour!"

* * *

_Thanks to Amazing Bluie for beta-reading this chapter, and thanks to everyone who has commented so far! You're all very kind._


	15. Chapter 15

"Wow." Donna squinted as she stared at the massive spaceship before her. "It's… big."

Obi-Wan gave her a curious look. "Not too large. About the same size as the one you were in before, or perhaps a bit smaller." As an afterthought he added, "Of course, you must be used to traveling in the Doctor's ship. I suppose that after spending so much time in such a small... box, you'd find any ship being of considerable size."

"I guess so." In fact, she could see the TARDIS now, on some sort of platform that hovered in the air. The walkway to the larger ship was being lowered, and soon the small, blue box that Donna had grown to find comfortable, and which she even missed a bit right now, would be raised and taken to the inside of the much larger on the outside ship. The Doctor had insisted on overseeing the process himself, claiming that he knew the TARDIS better than anybody (which, granted, was very true) and would be able to tell in a second if something went wrong.

"They'll be finished shortly. Do you want to board now?" The sooner they were on their way to Jabiim the better, as far as Obi-Wan was concerned.

"No. I think I'll wait until the Doctor is done."

"Very well." They stood together, neither knowing what to say, watching as the Doctor waved his arms and shouted commands to the clones. They were quick and efficient workers –bred to be, Donna couldn't help noting—and so the awkward silence didn't last long, much to the thanks of both.

"Master Kenobi, your men are brilliant workers! I've got to say, I'm impressed. They know how to treat a ship right." The Doctor bounded over to them, grinning. "The TARDIS is all packed up and ready to be fueled!"

"That's good, Doctor. Are you ready to board now?" Obi-Wan glanced around; no sign of the Chancellor.

"Yes I am. Come on, Donna!" He grinned at her. "Gage and his men are coming with us, and he said he'd give us a tour of the ship. Once in a lifetime chance!"

"Goody." Been in one ship and you've been in them all, as far as she was concerned, but at least this way she would have something interesting to tell Gramps when she got back. "I'm lookin' forward to it."

******

As luck would have it, Gage had been busy preparing for takeoff, although he had promised he'd show them around the ship as soon as they hit hyperspace. That left Donna and the Doctor nothing to do for at least half an hour, which was how they had ended up inside the TARDIS. Despite the change of scenery, they were still doing absolutely nothing as far as Donna could tell.

"She looks good! Not affected at all by the jostling she's been through." The Doctor patted the inside of the ship. "A few minutes under the rift are all she'll need to be powered up enough to get us back to Earth. I'll charge her again in Cardiff once we're there, if that's necessary. We don't want to keep everyone holed up on Jabiim for any longer than we have to."

"Really? What's it like there?" In past experience, she had found that the Doctor loved to dally in places that any sane man or woman would have been desperate to leave, and while he had already established that he wanted to be out of the whole Star Wars thing, she didn't see why Jabiim would be any worse.

"Oh, not pleasant." The Doctor furrowed his brow and clasped his hands behind his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. "There's a lot of mining and a lot of pollution. And bad weather, too. Very rainy, and rain leads to mud. It isn't exactly a well-known spot because there's just not much that it has to offer. The Rift that we're going for is its biggest claim-to-fame, I think." At her questioning glance he added, "Well, I've heard the name before, and there doesn't seem to be anything else putting it too far out of the ordinary."

"Okay, then. I've been to worse places than free mud baths. How far is it?"

"It's on the Outer Rim, but we're in a quick ship, so probably only a day, depending on what route they take. Ask Gage when he comes. I never was too good at mapping the standard hyperspace routes; you see-" The Doctor paused mid-sentence, head poised to one side. "Oh, hear that? That's the sound of a dozen engines working in perfect synch to get us off the ground and into the skies of Coruscant! That's beautiful."

"Yeah, just brilliant." She could hear it too now, a low roar that built up steadily.

The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS. "Come on! You can walk around. And it's awesome to be standing by a window when they break atmosphere. Although**,** technically**,** it won't be as cool since Coruscant is really just a big bubble, all wrapped up 'cause the Humans here killed the real atmosphere years ago. But still, good to see."

She followed him out of his ship, shutting the door behind her. They were in one of the small rooms composing of the cargo bay, just like they had been in the other ship when they had first come to the planet, but unlike the massive, full room that had been on that ship, this one was divided into small pockets with lower ceilings that the TARDIS could easily brush. It was designed to mimic a freighter ship, although apparently they were much bigger in reality, and had more of the tiny storage areas where this one had giant, deadly weapons.

The Doctor was apparently familiar with the set-up. He skillfully led the way through the maze of halls and to the bridge of the ship, where Obi-Wan was standing, talking to one of the troopers. The Jedi looked up as they approached and greeted them with a nod. "I trust your ship was contained aboard the _Ragnork _without issues?"

"Oh, yeah! The TARDIS is absolutely fine. You and your men really know what you're doing!" He nodded at the clone Obi-Wan had been speaking to, who Donna was vaguely able to distinguish from the other ones –Gage, now leading the troops he had served next to under Cody.

"Thank you, sir. Glad to hear it." Cody gave a sharp nod, all business and dedication, but Donna could detect a hint of pleasure at the compliment on his sharp, unmasked face. "You two ready for that tour now?"

Donna glanced at the Doctor. "I'm ready whenever he is."

The Doctor hesitated. "You two go ahead. I'll catch up. I just needed to ask Master Kenobi something."

She cast him a curious look, slightly annoyed that he hadn't mentioned anything about talking to the Jedi, but stepped forward with Gage, ready to smile and nod on command for the next few hours as she learned far more than she ever wanted to about some giant spaceship.

******

The Doctor watched as the clone began to walk and talk to Donna, pointing out the different areas on the ship as she smiled and nodded. He stifled a laugh; she really wasn't that subtle in her disinterest as to the mechanics of this particular CN-M96 fighter.

"Doctor?" Obi-Wan was watching him, looking concerned. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong! No, I just wanted to ask you something, something about the Chancellor."

"The Chancellor? Oh." Obi-Wan hesitated, wary. "Would you like to go somewhere more private, or…" he nodded to indicate their present settings, on the bridge and in the company of the squadron of men accompanying them.

"No, this should be fine; thanks. The clones are plenty loyal." For now, at least. "No, I was just wondering. He asked to see us before we left, didn't he?"

"Yes." Well, this certainly put him into an awkward situation. "He was contacted, but he wasn't able to make it. You shouldn't worry yourself." Jedi weren't supposed to lie, but there was no way he could tell the truth, that Yoda had foreseen a coming darkness that the Doctor was needed to stop, and that they had needed to leave as quickly as possible.

As it happened, he wasn't sure if he was lying to himself. Was that the reason, or were they just all too suspicious of the Chancellor? This was the first time**,** that he could recall**,** that they had deliberately hidden something from the man, and while he wasn't sure he regretted it –certainly, Palpatine was an unusual man, and it was possible that he had ulterior motives of his own for being Chancellor—it gave him an odd feeling to think that the Jedi were creeping around his back.

"Oh! Okay, then." The Doctor smiled at Obi-Wan. "Just making sure. Thanks!" He bounded off to catch up with Gage and Donna.

Obi-Wan watched him go, wondering if he had detected the lie, and, if he had, what his opinion of the Jedi now was.

******

Several hours later, Donna had learned more than she would ever need to about hydraulic systems and just what electro-magnetic shielding did. She was also learning how to pretend she was much more interested than she actually was in what someone was saying –actually, scratch the second one; she had had plenty of practice with the Doctor.

"…and I think that's all there is to show you." Gage paused. "Unless you have any questions?"

"Well, I know I don't!" The Doctor, who has rejoined her and the Clone only a few minutes after the tour had started, sounded rather chipper for a man who had spent the last few hours learning about the detailed inner workings of a spaceship he had probably been on numerous times in his nine-hundred years. "You're very thorough in your explanations!"

"I agree. You're very, very detailed." She gave him her best smile. "I feel like I'm an expert now."

"Thank you, ma'am. Glad to be of service." He smiled and saluted her. "The men are probably playing sabacc right now, or maybe dejarik, if you'd like to join."

"Sabacc! Oh, I haven't played that in years. In fact, I think I have my own deck, back on the TARDIS. I'll just run and get it, and then I'll join you on the bridge, okay?"

"Yes, sir. Sounds like a plan to me. I'll meet you there." The clone saluted them again, and they were off, running down the halls.

******

As soon as they were out of Gage's hearing range Donna was finally safe to ask her questions. "So, what were you asking Master Kenobi earlier?"

"I'll tell you that once we're in the TARDIS. It's nothing serious." The Doctor glanced around, probably making sure that no other clones were listening.

"Fine." She'd hold him to that promise once they were in the big box in a few minutes. "Then what's sabacc?"

"Sabacc! Best card game in the galaxy. I'll teach you how to play."

"Oh. Then what's deja… dejarock, or whatever Gage mentioned?"

"Another game. It's kind of like chess, except a lot more fun. We'll do sabacc first, though. That's probably the easier one."

"Oh. Okay." That actually sounded like fun. "So, do you actually remember where we left the TARDIS?" All of the storage units looked the same to her, but maybe that was because she was just a Human from an uncivilized time period instead of a Lord of Time who seemed to be from everywhere and every time.

"Of course I do! She's parked away in this one." The Doctor opened a door to reveal a series of cardboard boxes labeled in the alien script she had encountered several times already. "Oh! Ammo. Wonder why that one wasn't locked. Never mind; she must be kept in here!" Again, he opened a door, and again, it was piled up with boxes. "Well, this could be a problem. Donna, could you take the other side? I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

******

Ten minutes later, Donna finally found the ship, hidden several rows away from where the Doctor's search had begun.

"You know, I could've sworn that I left her in the other one." The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS and bounded inside. "Strange."

"Of course. Not like you just forgot." She rolled her eyes and stepped inside. "So, what were you asking Master Kenobi?"

"Not much, like I said before. I was asking him about Palpatine. Remember, he asked to see us again before we left, and he didn't." She could easily hear him, although his voice was muffled: he was rooting around in the back of the ship, looking for his deck of cards.

"Oh, yeah. That's right." Donna frowned. "So what do you think he'll do?"

"Palpatine? Well, there isn't much he can do. Putting up a fuss won't get him anywhere. Still, I'm suspicious. There's something about Jabiim. Oh, here they are!" He emerged looking victorious, a deck of cards raised high in his hands. "Haven't used these since I was a young man, only two or three hundred years old! But trust me, you never forget how to play sabacc. Come on, I'll teach you."

"Right." Donna followed him out of the TARDIS, pushing her own worries over the Sith Lord and what he was capable of to the back of her mind.

***_Coruscant: Chancellor's office; shortly after the departure of the _Ragnork***

Sideous was furious. Insolent Jedi! How dare they go behind his back like that; had they even fewer loyalties at all to the Republic that they claimed to defend than he had first thought?

He stood impatiently, waiting for Dooku to pick up his comm.

"My Lord." His apprentice bowed down, touching his head to the floor of whatever backwater planet he was on. "I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"It would do you well to remember the foolishness of keeping me waiting, regardless of what you were doing!"

"I apologize." Dooku bowed again, like the trained monkey that he was, performing his part without question, and making Sideous thankful that he was just a fill-in apprentice, a pawn to be used and killed off as soon as Anakin Skywalker was ready.

"Have your forces departed to Jabiim yet?"

"Yes, lord. They were sent from a base near to the planet, and I expect that they will arrive within the hour. Asajj leads them."

"Good." He was none too fond of Dooku's assassin, but she was capable when the need arose. As Grievous was unable to leave his current position in the Farlax Sector and Tyranus wasn't close enough to reach Jabiim in time, she would do. "See that she knows to be prepared for battle by the time they arrive."

"Yes, Master."

_***_Ragnork:_ Approximately twenty-five hours after departure from Coruscant***_

Obi-Wan was awoken by the beeping of his com-link, only an hour or two after he had gone to sleep. Rubbing his eyes, and figuring that he was presentable enough to appear before whoever it was, he picked it up and tiredly said, "Master Kenobi here."

"Master Kenobi, we've just emerged from hyperspace, and we've found something that I think you'd better see in person." Gage's voice was tight and clipped, but also tinged with the fatigue that Obi-Wan was doing his best to clear away. "I don't think we're the first ones to arrive here, sir."

******

"Any idea how many there are?" Obi-Wan was bent over the latest intel as they orbited around Jabiim, not yet making planetfall.

"Nope. The electrical activity in Jabiim's atmosphere is interfering with the scans. We can't get a decent reading until we're inside."

"Very well." There wasn't much choice, then: it could just be a small Separatist base, and they'd land far enough away so that, with any hope, they wouldn't attract attention. "Gage, prep the ship for a landing. Make it at least ten klicks away from where the base should be. I'll go get the Doctor and Donna. We've come this far, and we won't go back."

"Yes, sir."

******

"Donna, Doctor. We're about to make planetfall." Obi-Wan's quiet voice brought Donna out of a peaceful sleep. She gave a low moan, her arm tossed over her eyes. Her sense of time had been seriously put off by the space travel, but this felt far too early in the morning to her senses.

"Is something wrong?" In a stark contrast to her, the Doctor sounded perfectly coherent and awake.

There was a pause before Obi-Wan answered. "No, Doctor. Early intel readings are suggesting that there could be a small garrison of droids below, but it's far too soon to tell. It's highly unlikely that there is any sort of threat posed to us, though. Very few people know we're arriving here, and there wouldn't have been enough time for that information to fall to Separatist ears. There should be no problem at all."

"That's good. We'll be out in a few minutes." She listened as the Jedi murmured something, possibly "That's fine, Doctor," and walked away.

"Donna. Get up, Donna." She rolled over and almost fell out of the bunk. Well, at least she hadn't sat up: The bunks they were in were little more than narrow, low inlets in the walls of the ship, not particularly comfortable.

"I'm up." She blinked, let her eyes adjust to the fuzzy light, and stood and stretched, before seeing the worried expression on the Time Lord's face. "Doctor? What is it?"

"I don't think this is that small of a Separatist base."

***_Jabiim –planet's surface_***

From her vantage point Asajj Ventress watched and sneered as a ship dropped out of the sky, far away, but still easily visible. It would be almost too easy to track them down and do as her Master wished to them. "Jedi fools."


	16. Chapter 16

_a/n: And so we come, at last, to the conclusion. There will be an epilogue, to sort of round things off, but this is where almost everything is finished. _

_I must say, it's been a lot of fun writing this. I never intended for it to get so long, but I'm glad it did. I've learned a lot about writing from my experiences with this story._

_Anyway, this is mostly to say thank you to everyone! A specific thanks goes to _Amazing Bluie_ for his work beta-reading this. Additionally, I need to express my appreciation to everyone who has read this, and especially to those who have reviewed. I know I fell behind on answering you personally, but each one of you made my day when you took the time to leave a few words of praise or con-crit. I always appreciate that, and I will try to get back to each of you henceforth. _

_Now, back to the story:_

_

* * *

  
_

"Preparing to break Jabiim's atmosphere now, sir! The electrical storm's finally clearing up." The bridge of the ship bustled with activity, and Obi-Wan barely heard Gage's yell above the roar of the engines.

"Very well!" He caught the clone's eye and gave him a nod, making sure that he got the meaning, if not the message.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, allowing himself a moment's worth of meditation. To help him focus, he honed in on the emotions and appearance of the people surrounding him with the eyes of the Force.

The six troopers, not including the newly-promoted Gage, were standing ready. Their armor was on and blasters were out: trouble was very much a possibility, and he could feel the tension crackling around them as he settled his own thoughts. A steady pulse of light surrounded them, given off by the energy contained within them, an energy that came with each and every living being scattered across the galaxy, and is always unique. Even the clones had variances shimmering through in the force, despite that the soldiers he was watching were born from the same genes; they were definitely their own separate person.

He focused on the Doctor and Donna next. Standing side by side, they barely resembled each other –no sane or sober person would have assumed that they were related. In the eyes of the Force, though, they both bloomed brightly, twin beacons of light shining around them. Their auras were stronger now than they had been in the Temple, and for a moment, a feeling of dread washed over Obi-Wan –the closer they got to their destinies, the stronger the lights would become; he saw that with stunning clarity.

And after that… after that was even more shielded than the truth about where they had come from. The Force seemed to have no desire to share their secrets with him at the moment, and he wondered if it ever would.

A low rumble echoed through the ship as it plunged through Jabiim's turbulent atmosphere, breaking Obi-Wan's moment's worth of peace. "We're coming in on the night side," announced Gage. "It's closer to what looks like it could be a command center for the droids, but it's almost entirely clear. And we'll be a good fifty klicks away. Is that all right, General?"

"It's fine by me." Gage was smart; Obi-Wan trusted that he would make good –or at least logical—choices.

Obi-Wan turned to the Doctor and Donna, about to ask just how the TARDIS was recharged, but the Doctor spoke first. "Master Kenobi! You're preparing for landing, I presume?"

"Yes, Doctor." The Jedi nodded.

"That's good. I've been wondering…" he glanced around, and Obi-Wan sensed his hesitation. "…are you expecting any sort of trouble? Separatist forces or whatnot?"

"No," he answered, surprised by the question. "There is a possible base, but they don't know we're here. They won't be expecting us, assuming that it's still manned, and not just an old, abandoned one. We'll be fine. Why do you ask that?"

"Oh, just wondering. I heard one of the troopers mention that there might be trouble, and I got a bit worried." The Doctor gave him a quick smile. "I just wanted to make sure that we were prepared."

"We are." Obi-Wan frowned, wondering about the odd reaction, but decided not to push it any further. "Doctor, can you tell me how exactly your ship recharges? I should decide on a proper plan of action for when we touch down on land, and I'm afraid I can't do that if I don't know what your plans are."

"Oh, I don't need long. Ten minutes will get her enough power to go where she needs to. Day or night, that shouldn't matter." The low roar that had been part of the white noise in the background increased suddenly, flaring up as the ship passed through Jabiim's atmosphere, and Obi-Wan reached out, resting a hand on one of the control panels to steady himself. Donna was caught slightly off-balance as well, but the Doctor somehow managed to remain steady; apparently, he had done this quite often.

"We're landing now, sir!" Gage's voice rang through the ship. "The most efficient way to get in and out will require landing in a nearby clearing. Will that be sufficient?"

"That will be fine." Obi-Wan watched through the transparisteel windows lining one wall as the land rushed past beneath them. "How long until daylight?"

"Three hours until sunrise. We're at two-hundred hours in Jabiim's time."

"Okay, then. That will work." Obi-Wan turned to the Doctor. "We'll prepare your ship for leaving at six-hundred hours." It was a fairly early hour, but that way he and his troopers need not spend too much time way from the Temple, and the main battlefield. Although they were few in numbers, their individual missing presences would be felt. Doing the task then would also allow them the daylight in which they could work comfortably at.

"Six o'clock it is!" the Doctor declared, looking so cheerful that Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel that it was forced. "Should we just wait in the TARDIS until then? Perhaps I'll prep her and then we can maybe catch a few winks."

"Of course, Doctor. She's your ship, you know what you're doing." Obi-Wan watched as they walked off before turning to Gage. "I'd like to get a scouting party out there, just to be sure that we're secure. How many men can you safely spare? I'd like to have some here as well, in the event that something _does_ happen."

"I'll send three men out, sir. That'll be splitting us in half, but my men are more than capable. Hopefully, there won't be any large-scale trouble to be found."

"Indeed. Three will be fine." At his approval, Gage called out to a trio of his men –Als, Red and Alpha—and gave them their instructions, and by the time the ship hit the ground, they were ready to leave.

Obi-Wan saw them off, and then started to return to his quarters, wanting to get in at least an hour's worth of sleep or meditation until it was time to help the Doctor recharge his ship. But just as he was about to leave the bridge, a sudden feeling; not quite a premonition, but something far more than just his nerves, struck him. He stumbled to his quarters, which, thankfully, weren't far, and leaned back against the hard durasteel wall once safely inside.

The feeling was vague and shadowy, more emotion than image, but the message of it flooded through his senses. Two great darknesses were rushing forwards, one coming for him and the other… for the Doctor? Or was it Donna, or both? It was far off from here, a great distance away, but it was moving quickly.

Just as disturbing was the idea that there was a cloud in the Force even closer, right here on Jabiim. How could it have come up so quickly? Very few people had known they were on Jabiim, and he would trust all of those people –to different degrees, certainly, but in one way or another he depended on each one of them. Yet he could feel down to his bones, something sinister was waiting specifically for them.

Obi-Wan tried to identify what was so dangerous, but he felt the Force tug his attention to the Doc- no, to Donna. And then he heard it; the strangest thing. A heartbeat.

"Master Kenobi!" Gage's voice cut through his meditations, startling the Jedi master as he tried to understand what the Force was telling him. "Just received a transmission, and we've got a problem! You're going to need to see this."

"Play it for me." Things were moving quickly, much too quickly. Tapping into the Force, Obi-Wan nearly got a headache. How had the darkness advanced that fast?

A flickering image appeared on the transmitter –Als. He was kneeling down behind some form of cover; a rock, or perhaps one of Jabiim's more unusual trees. Next to him were the other two troopers, Thay and Red, shooting. "General Kenobi! Or Gage, or whoever's out there! We've made contact, and it's an entire garrison of droid troops –repeat, at least one garrison, possibly two. They're advancing quick, too quick, and we can't hold them off for much longer! We're not far from the camp, maybe two klicks –our coordinates-" there was a muffled yell, barely heard over the increasingly loud sound of blaster fire, and the com-link was dropped. The image disappeared.

"That's the end of it, sir."

Obi-Wan looked up at Gage, his mind working as quickly as possible. "Send an SOS transmission out to the Temple and tell them the situation. Make sure your men are preparing. I'm going to go get the Doctor. I'll see to it that he gets his ship refueled and leaves. Focus on defending the ship rather than engaging the droids. We're here to see the Doctor off, and then we're free to retreat. Any questions?"

Gage saluted, a grim look on his angular features. "No, sir!" He hurried off, barking out commands to the pathetically small group of troopers left.

Obi-Wan didn't wait to see how they were reacting to the emergency, instead running off on a quest of his own. It was time for the Doctor to get his ship and get out; and maybe even time for himself to see the what was coming in the darkness.

******

"Jabiim, Jabiim!" The Doctor pounded a fist on one of the control boards of the TARDIS. "What is it about Jabiim that I'm not remembering?"

"I don't know. I've never heard the name before in my life." Donna stood near the ship's open door. "Are you sure you're not thinking of something else?" They had been in the ship for some time now, and it felt like they were going in circles with this conversation.

"Yes! Certain. There's something about this place, something that happens here that's bad; very bad, but I can't remember what." The Time Lord frowned and began to pace the ship. "What is it? It wasn't in the movies on Earth, not something well known, but it was important. A battle, or something, but there were battles everywhere! What was so bad about this one?"

"Doctor?" The two of them jumped as the words were spoken, and Master Kenobi appeared. His approach had been a silent one, and neither had realized he was there, nor did they know how long he had been waiting.

If he had heard the Doctor's frustrated comments, he didn't let on to it. "Are you both-" his eyes widened as he glanced into the ship. "It's…"

"Bigger on the inside. Yeah. What is it that you were asking?" The Doctor stopped his pacing for the moment.

Despite all the strange things the Jedi master had seen in his life, Obi-Wan had to indulge himself in a moment of dumbfounded silence. Obi-Wan shook his head, regaining his bearings. "Right… Are you both prepared to leave? Some... unforeseen events have occurred, and I'd like to make haste in our departure."

"Sure! We should be set, right Donna?" He glanced at her.

"I know I'm ready." She had been ready for days, ever since they first arrived in this strange little corner of the universe.

"Good. I'm afraid we'll have to transport your ship out on our own –the troopers are a bit… occupied at the moment—but with any luck, you should be ready to leave well within the hour." Behind the Jedi, Donna now noticed a large device which resembled, above anything else, a forklift.

"That's what you use to move the TARDIS?" She stared at it, dubious. "Really?"

Obi-Wan looked slightly confused. "Yes… unless it didn't work? I was under the impression that it had the first time-"

"Oh, no. I'm sure it worked fine." Besides being a bloody _forklift_. This was a galaxy where spaceships and laser swords were the norm, but that was all they had to move an object from one place to another? _Really?_

"You'd be surprised." The Doctor surveyed the forklift and gave it an approving nod. "Sometimes the simplest things work best."

Donna shrugged. "If you say so."

******

And about half an hour later, the Doctor was avoiding Donna's smug look as they finally settled the big blue box. It hadn't exactly been a fun job –apparently there was a large difference between getting something _onto_ a ship, and getting it _out_ of one. Especially when there had been half-a-dozen or so people working to get it on the first time. But it was over now.

They were at the back end of the _Ragnork_, where Obi-Wan had insisted it would be safer from the advancing troops. She could hear them fighting in the background, the sound of lasers bouncing against the larger ship's hull, but they hadn't been reached yet. She didn't know how much longer that would last, but at the moment the few troopers that they had were proving to be surprisingly capable.

Not that that was enough to give her utter confidence in their abilities. It very well might be just luck that had allowed the troopers to hold off the droids for this long, and she wasn't going to bet her life on that good fortune lasting for another ten minutes, or however long it was that the Doctor needed to refuel the TARDIS.

He was inside the ship at the moment, doing something with the sonic screwdriver at the controls, while she was standing at its entrance, watching him to see if he needed help. Obi-Wan was behind her, a worried expression creasing his brow. His eyes were cast to the _Ragnork_, but she distinctly got the idea that his mind was occupied with what was going on behind it.

During the half-hour that they had worked to take the bulky, blue ship to Jabiim's muddy surface, Gage had kept in close contact with Obi-Wan through a series of harried holograms, (or at least what looked like holograms to her; there was some probably fancy name for them that she had never heard before) the last of which had come some ten minutes before. The messages had been brief and not particularly comprehensible, what with the static from all of the flying lasers dashing too close to the clone for anyone's comfort, but the one thing that Donna could say about them was that they were regular, and they were well due for another one by now.

"Yes!" The Doctor's triumphant exclamation rang through the air. "That's it! Come on, now; I just need to flick the switch and…" she just had time to see him tap something on one of the control boards in the center of the TARDIS before a bolt of lightning flashed overhead, making her jump in surprise. "Got it!" He bounded over to where she stood. "Give her ten minutes and we'll be out of here, Donna!"

"And thank goodness for that." It had taken long enough.

Obi-Wan turned around just as she spoke. "Ten minutes? You're sure?"

"Yep! She doesn't need long." The Doctor patted the ship's side in a way that was far too affectionate, as far as Donna was concerned. "We could go in seven, if you need us to, but ten is the best."

"Take your time." Obi-Wan's words weren't spoken with any sort of annoyance in them, but they were an obvious formality, and nothing more. The Jedi wanted to be off the planet as much as they did.

******

Obi-Wan was counting down the minutes until the Doctor's ship (of which he was too tired to allow himself to think about the difference in dimensions between inside and out) was done charging. It wasn't an activity particularly befitting of a Jedi, but at the moment the alternative was to be pacing around with his hands clenched behind his back. Standing still and slowly breathing out his anxiety, counting the seconds in his head was definitely the lesser of two evils.

Exactly two minutes had passed when his com-link buzzed for what was close to the first time in fifteen.

His fingers scrambled to grab it, suddenly clumsy. It was an unsettling thing, to be so close to a battle but not be fighting in it, and even more unsettling to feel a wave of darkness flowing gleefully around the planet, something that was nourished by death and fed in pain. This was a place of suffering.

"Master Kenobi!" That wasn't Gage's voice, and Obi-Wan knew in a heartbeat that he was dead. "Gage is down; Commander Als reporting." So Als had survived the initial attack.

"Recognized. What's the situation?" The last time Gage had checked in, they had managed to keep the droids at about half a kilometer away from the ship, and there hadn't been any more men down yet.

"I don't know how much longer we can hold them away, sir. The droids are advancing and overpowering us. Thay's also down, but the rest of us are left. And we're close to the ship; too close."

"Can you last for, say, five more minutes? Just keep them away from the ship. We're stationed behind it, and the Doctor's ship is recharging. It won't take long."

There was a moment's pause. Obi-Wan couldn't see Als's face –it was a battle, after all, and the man was in full armour—but he got the idea that if he could there would be an expression of definite skepticism on it. "I don't know," he finally replied. "We'll do our best, General."

"That's all I can ask. I'll join you as soon as I can. May the Force be with you, Commander." It was difficult to give a command like that, but Obi-Wan knew it had to be done. Whatever was coming, he knew the Doctor needed his ship.

"Yes, sir. Signing out now." The image on his com-link flickered and disappeared.

He shut his own communications device down and stared at it where it lay in the palm of his hand, as though it could give him the answer.

A bluish ultraviolet light pulsed softly at the end of its oblong shape, telling him that he still had a decent amount of power left in it.

Blue light…

He looked up, a flicker of hope suddenly awakening in him. He turned to the TARDIS, to where both Donna and the Doctor stood. "Doctor? Do you still have your… thing? The heirloom; the one that shuts off droids?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, and a grin came across his face as he understood the question Obi-Wan was alluding to at the moment. "Yes! Of course; the screwdriver! Why didn't I think of that before?" He didn't wait for an answer before he bolted back into the ship, snatched something up, and ran back out. "Must've been distracted with trying to remember why Jabiim was so important. I just need to readjust the settings…" His fingers moved nimbly over the oblong object, pushing switches and buttons that looked impossibly tiny, until a gentle blue glow began to pulse out of its top. "Yes!" He raised it to the sky and twisted something.

A light flared out of the top, so blindingly bright that Obi-Wan ducked down and squeezed his eyes shut, his hand moving to his lightsaber in a thoughtless reflex. It was over in a moment, though, and when he opened his eyes, blinking away the small blue spots which floated through his vision now as a result of the light, something instantly struck him: it was silent. The sound of blasters being fired, which had been audible despite the distance just moments ago wasn't there now.

As he probably should have expected, his com-link rang. "General! The droids; they've all stopped!"

"Yes. The situation is… under control." Knowing he could safely say that made a huge wave of relief slip over him, and although it wasn't exactly a proper bit of Jedi behavior, he allowed himself to embrace it, just for a moment. "Have yourself and the rest of the men return to the ship now. We can prepare for take-off."

"Yes, sir!" Als saluted him. "Signing out now."

"Signing out." Obi-Wan shut off the com and returned his attention to the Doctor. "How much longer, Doctor?"

It occurred to him then that all the ship was really doing was sitting there. How could it be recharging like that, if there was no source of fuel or energy? That didn't make sense.

"Not too long." The Doctor looked cheerful now as he stretched his arms and turned his face to the sky in Jabiim's very early morning. "Say, five minutes?"

"Five minutes it is." Obi-Wan would have rather not been there in the first place, rather still have Gage and whoever else had fallen by his side; but it had taken them that long to get to this point. Yes, he could wait five minutes more.

******

The clones were foolish, deduced Ventress. They had to be, to not see her this close to them, taking cover only occasionally.

They had led her directly to the ship, which was only meters away. Of course, she had known where it was and could have taken it at whatever moment she chose to, but it was a good test of her abilities, to see how long she could go without detection –and so far, she was quite pleased with the results. Even now, when she was being told of the situation that she was more than aware of, no one could detect her from even a short distance away.

"Sir –ma'am—General—" The droid reporting to Asajj was a standard battle droid, with an annoyingly nasal voice, and a bottle-shaped head, but somehow it managed to convey a remarkable amount of worry in its voice and in its stature on the flickering hologram as it stumbled over the honorifics. "We've lost contact with our troops."

"So you have." She knew that already, of course; even if she had not seen it, the assassin had felt the exact moment in the Force when the electrical energy buzzing around the droids had been snuffed out. Whatever had done that (she didn't particularly care as to the specifics; the Jedi's technology was not of relevance to her, since she knew she could easily destroy what she couldn't plunder from the dead) carried quite a range, but it hadn't reached the droids still waiting on her ship. "And are there more that haven't been deployed?"

Oh, she knew the answer –it would take a fool of extreme measurements to send out all of their troops at once. What she had put against the small squadron of clones she was tracking now as they headed back to their ship had been well under half of what droids they actually had waiting. It was just entertaining to see the droid bend under a fear that hadn't even been programmed into it.

"Of course we do, sir! I mean-"

"Never mind that. Deploy half of the remaining troops –we want to catch that Jedi. I will take care of the clone troopers myself." She was outnumbered, of course, but they had proven themselves to be fools, not even noticing that they were being followed. A single one of them was hardly an opponent worthy of fighting her, but perhaps five of them together would put up a better fight.

"Roger, roger." The droid signed out of the conversation, which had taken entirely too long in Ventress's mind. She stood up and stretched, knowing that the clones would most definitely see the movement.

They didn't disappoint. "What was that?" The one in the lead spun around to the low brush and bushes where she had taken cover.

A grin curled up the sides of her lips as she casually stepped out of her hiding place and ignited her lightsaber. "Not what, boys. _Who_."

******

Three minutes were left when Obi-Wan got the feeling they weren't out of the hole yet.

It came quickly, just as the first feeling had, and it was the same sensation of darkness washing over him. This time, though, it was much nearer.

A second later, and he felt something else –a life slipping out of the Force; no, not just one. The Force signatures flared up, brighter than they had been since birth, and then disappeared completely, three wiped out almost at the same time, and one following the rest slightly later.

Something had attacked the clones, leaving only one alive. Something dark.

He became aware that the Doctor and Donna were looking at him, worried. "Master Kenobi? Are you okay?" Donna sounded concerned, which was probably to be expected, seeing as he was leaning against the side of the TARDIS for support now, one hand on his forehead, and the other on his lightsaber.

"I'm- I'm not sure. Something is coming." It was close now, too close. Before he had had the option of hiding his concerns, burying them under the notion that they were far enough away so that he wouldn't have to pass on his worry to Donna and the Doctor, but that wasn't true now.

"Master Kenobi? Something's coming; what does that mean?" The Doctor's eyes looked darker in their intensity, older and wiser. "Coming for who?"

"I don't know. It's not just here…" he could feel the other thing coming now as well, the Darkness that wanted Donna and the Doctor. It was far away, and separate from whatever awaited them on Jabiim, but it was just as evil.

"Obi-Wan! Look out!"

He barely heard Donna's shout over the sound of his lightsaber moving upwards to meet the two red blades that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The Jedi moved quickly, slashing his saber along the twin scarlet ones, which were being thrust at him in the opening move of some dark form of saber fighting, not one of the standard seven the Jedi practiced. He was met with a resistance surprisingly strong for the assailant's size –but he didn't allow that to surprise him, taking a lesson from Master Yoda. Size wasn't relevant when it came to this sort of combat; only strength, speed and intelligence were, and his opponent clearly possessed all of those.

They broke apart, him moving backwards in an unplanned flip based upon the momentum he had gained, and he was finally able to give the darkness a name and a face. "Ventress."

"Master Kenobi." She had lowered her blades so that they hung evenly from her hands, pointing towards the ground, but her sneer still gave her a fierce look despite them not being poised for fighting. "I thought it wise to be here to greet you to this lovely place."

"How kind of you." He said the words as casually as possible, letting them curtain his true thoughts, which were moving a thousand kilometers each second.

Ventress had known they were coming. How wasn't important at the moment –he could worry about how word had reached her ears later—but what to do now was. The objective that he had held upon arriving with his small squadron of clones was the same now as it had been then: he had to get the Doctor and Donna back home safely. Their wellbeing was the most important thing right now, far above his.

"Donna, Doctor, stay inside your ship. Get out of here as soon as you can." Which would be soon; two minutes, if not less, and they would have enough power to leave.

"Right." To his credit, the Doctor's voice was also fearless, and he felt more resolve than worry radiating from the ship's direction.

"Oh, you won't be leaving." Ventress sounded delighted, in her cool, bitter way as she informed them of this. "My Master is most interested in you."

"You won't be harming them. You have no cause to." He tried to formulate a plan as they circled each other, each one daring the other to make a first move. A message of distress had been sent to the Temple on Coruscant upon their landing, but that had been based mostly out of precautions and worry, and what was really here was far worse than he had thought. Still, if he could wait until then…

But it could be days until somebody reached him. He was trapped here with Ventress and her droids, with only one clone left alive, probably so she could torture and kill him slowly later.

He'd find a way, though; he _had_ to. And he would wait as long as he needed to.

******

Donna wasn't sure of the specifics of the situation, but she knew it wasn't good. The bald woman, the one whom Donna could only relate to some sort of harpy, one of those evil, ugly bird-women from some old stories, was strong and fast. She could tell that immediately. And the nutter seemed to want her and the Doctor, from what was said.

They'd be fine, she was sure of that. The Doctor was here; he had a way out, right?

Of course; he _always_ could make it out, find some implausible little loophole in the details. Still, it would be nice to know that for sure, and also to know who Harpy Woman was.

She turned to the Doctor, confident she would receive her answers. "Doctor-"

"I remember now," he said. He was staring ahead, and she wasn't sure if he had actually heard her; but then he turned to face her. "That's it, Donna! I remember what happens on Jabiim."

"That's great, Doctor, but who is that woman?" The woman was still circling Obi-Wan, like some slim, bald cat, and held her lightsabers in a deadly stance.

"It's-" his sentence was interrupted as Harpy leapt at Obi-Wan, her sabers whirling together. Obi-Wan met her attack, but it didn't look like he was prepared for it. Still, he was able to fend her off, and actually gained some ground, managing to push the attacker off. "Doctor! Get out of here!"

As if his words woke it up, the TARDIS suddenly flared to life. Donna wasn't sure how the whole Rift-energy thing worked, but something had happened in the minutes while it was standing supposedly placid beneath Jabiim's stormy sky, and one couldn't tell now that she had been nothing more than an inanimate object for the past few days. The control panel, which had been nothing more than a dull board with switches sticking out at random, became vibrant, flashing with yellow lights.

The Doctor was at it in an instant. "That's it! Back with full power, that's a good TARDIS!" His hands moved too quickly for her eyes to follow, typing something one minute and flipping a switch the next. "Earth; we want Earth… 2008…"

There was a thump from outside as something banged against the TARDIS and Donna swung around just in time to see the hairless woman come charging towards the side, her saber raised. From the ground, Obi-Wan was just able to lift his in time to deflect a killing blow, although the red lightsaber did graze dangerously close to the side of the blue ship. "Doctor! Are you ready?"

"Yes we are, Master Kenobi! We're leaving… now!" With a flourish his pushed up a final switch, and ran to stand next to Donna, close to the door of the ship. "G'bye, Master Kenobi! I know this is… abrupt, but, well… goodbye! Thanks for everything!"

The suddenness of it all overwhelmed Donna, which surprised her, given that she had spent the last few days wishing for nothing more than to be out of the whole 'Star Wars' thing, and to be back home like she was supposed to be, just checking in for a day with her mother and grandfather. This was how they left, knowing what would happen in a few years (or maybe a few months –she really didn't know when they were) and not changing anything?

"Obi-Wan!" Her shout caught his attention, and he gave her a sideways glance, his focus still being on the fight with the woman before him. "Obi-Wan… be careful. Watch Anakin, will you? Watch him closely."

The TARDIS had dissipated almost entirely by that point, and Donna was shutting the doors to it as she spoke, but she was almost certain he had heard her, certain that he caught her eyes one last time, and gave a slight nod- confused, perhaps, but a confirm nevertheless.

Then the doors were pulled shut, the ship gave a lurch, and she knew instantly that they weren't on Jabiim anymore.

******

Obi-Wan stumbled backwards as the ship disappeared, giving off the same sort of siren-like sound that he had heard when it had first appeared.

Things were moving quickly; too quickly, something that seemed odd considering how eager he had been just minutes ago to see the Doctor off, and to complete this mission. Now, though, there were too many unanswered questions. Where were Donna and the Doctor going? How had their ship just disappear into thin air? How had Asajj known that they would be here? And what did Donna mean; "Watch Anakin?" Was he in danger? That didn't seem like what she wanted to say, but it was too vague.

Asajj had paused momentarily, watching with a wary look in her eyes as the ship faded out of existence. She was well-trained, though; too well-trained. That was a minor distraction, not allowing the Jedi across from her nearly enough time to escape from the fight to find a safe base to transmit a new message to Coruscant.

She paced around him, lips curled in their perpetual sneer. "There's nobody here to help you now, is there, Master Kenobi?"

He didn't have time to think up a clever response as she launched herself at him again, lightsaber blazing in a wide, scarlet swing. There wasn't time to do anything, actually; besides responding on instincts honed from years of training.

Hopefully, this would be a quick fight –something would happen; something would stop this. Until then, though, there wasn't much he could do besides wait it out, and fight the storm in front of him. There was more to this than her, he could feel it.

He gritted his teeth, and swung his saber into hers.

******

"So what happens next?" Donna stood next to the Doctor as they headed back to Earth, for a brief visit with her mother and grandfather.

"Jabiim, twenty-one BBY –that's before the Battle of Yavin; before the first movie, with Luke Skywalker and all. It's about a year after the Clone Wars began." The Time Lord rested against the control panels in the center of the TARDIS as he met her gaze. "Master Kenobi and one of his troopers is captured by Asajj Ventress, the assassin you saw. She's working for Dooku, although she eventually leaves him for a life of her own. The Jedi come, of course, and there's a big, bloody battle between clones and droids. One of the worst in the war."

"What happens to Obi-Wan? I mean, before he becomes Ben," she added quickly. "He escapes Ventress, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Him and Alpha –that's the clone—make it out alive. It's not easy, but they do." The Doctor sighed. "Jabiim… I should've remembered that from the start. It's one of the planet's biggest events."

"Well, it's over now, I guess." She stared at the patterns on the TARDIS's walls, not really sure what to think. "At least we got out of there alive."

"Yes, we did. And Donna, we did the right thing." The Doctor sighed. "If we had told them, it would've plunged the Republic into something it couldn't stand. It becomes one of the greatest things in the universe, the New Republic. Democracy at its finest. And when it reaches out to Earth for the first time, and when communication is widened? Years and years of peace follow. It's grand, Donna. It's everything Obi-Wan worked for, and more."

"That's good." And it was; and, oddly enough, it made her feel a little bit better. "Where will we go after Earth?"

"After Earth? I don't know." The Doctor cocked his head, thinking. "How 'bout Shan Shen? Fortune tellers, street performers, food –it's a great place."

Donna's eyebrows raised. "Fortune telling? Not likely. Bunch of silly nutters telling you what you want to hear."

The Doctor shrugged. "Well, you never know."

After a moment, Donna nodded. "Well, Shan Shen it is, then!"

"Shan Shen it is." For a moment before it landed on Earth, there was silence in the TARDIS. Somewhere deep down, the Doctor recalled a look he had seen on Obi-Wan's face, and he knew this was the calm before a storm in more than just the Star Wars galaxy. Something didn't feel right, and the Doctor himself could feel a darkness coming.

The Doctor slammed a mallet on a malfunctioning control switch and turned to Donna with a brilliant grin. For now, the only worry was picking the right market of Shan Shen to park near. He'd deal with any problems as they come.

As the TARDIS flew through time and space, for just a moment, the coming darkness slowed, and the Bad Wolf quieted its howling, and all was peaceful.


	17. Epilogue

On Tatooine, the days were insufferable; stifling with their heat and the weight in the air, which always felt heavy and weighed down with sand and sunlight. The nights were no better, bringing the cries of animals more than willing to prey on the weak and defenseless in the howling winds. And there was constantly the danger of sandstorms or illness from the heat. Tatooine was no place for a child, and Obi-Wan often questioned his decision to bring Luke there.

At the sunset, though, it all made sense. The art-like display that had been on Coruscant had been bold and streaked with colors and smog, made all the more brilliant by the pollution constantly taking place. They were quick, as well, giving way to a night as busy as the day was, with buildings lit up so much that it wasn't hard to mistake it for a clouded, sunless afternoon. Here on this small, backwater planet, for all the morally wasted people and all the scum that was at its surface, the sky was usually remarkably clean. The sunsets here were a slow and quiet affair, an elegant display of two huge, burning affairs of lights that took their time disappearing into the horizon.

Obi-Wan did his best to set aside the time to watch the sun go down here, after having ignored it on Coruscant and the many planets he had traveled to during missions for so many years. Today -exactly two years after he had arrived and given Anakin's son to Owen and Beru Lars—it would have taken a situation of great urgency to cause him to miss it. It had rained earlier in the day, and in all his months spent on Tatooine, that had occurred well less than a dozen times.

It was a magnificent sight to see, the double suns setting behind a grey scrim of clouds; so quiet, so peaceful, lulling Obi-Wan into a calm, meditative state outside his hut. Everything faded away: Order 66, Anakin, Vader; all his failures…

And then his meditations were interrupted by a loud noise. It was a howl, of sorts, but not from any sort of beast wandering the desert; this was a machine, and though it had been years, he recognized it in a second.

By the time he was scrambling to his feet, the outline of a blue box had become a tall and solid figure that completely disrupted Tatooine's lazy, rolling landscape. Still, it was a startlingly welcome sight for Obi-Wan.

The events that had occurred after the Doctor had left had put the strange man and his companion almost entirely out of Obi-Wan's mind. Ventress had captured him just as more of the Jedi forces had arrived, imprisoning him and Alpha for months. It hadn't been pleasant, and he had had almost no time to wonder the questions which had flowed into his mind just after the Doctor had left; questions concerning how a ship could just fade away, and what had happened to its two occupants. It had been far simpler to just assume that they were fine, and leave it at that.

Master Yoda, and Master Windu were content with that answer as well –after all, there was hardly any time to ponder over what had happened in the past, especially in the middle of a war. Everything had faded to the past for the time being, including the final message Donna had yelled –it had hardly seemed relevant, after all.

After Order 66, though, and after Mustafar, Donna's words had haunted him. _"Watch Anakin, will you? Watch him closely."_ On occasion throughout the war, during the nights he couldn't sleep, he had wondered what she meant; wondered what it was about Anakin that he needed to watch. But, for the most part, he had only thought half-heartedly about her meaning, concluding that perhaps he had somehow misheard her over the odd, grating roar of their little ship's engines.

Once he had stationed himself here on Tatooine, he had cursed himself time and time again: Why hadn't he watched closer? Why hadn't he thought about them more, meditated upon their meaning until he had found a definite answer? And most importantly of all, what exactly had Donna known? Why hadn't she and the Doctor said something? What was done was done, but, more than anything, he needed closure to fully move on from the past. And now, perhaps he could get some.

The doors to the TARDIS swung open, and a single brown-haired figure stepped out, closing the door behind him. He paused in front of the ship for a moment, gazing at the suns, and then turned to face Obi-Wan, a half-grin on his face. "Master Kenobi! Beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

"Yes, truly, and one that will never be replicated. I suppose I should be grateful to have the chance to see it." There was a pause as both men admired the sight, watching as the day ended and they stood close to each other for the first time in nearly four years.

The silence didn't last long: the Jedi Master had been desperate for the chance to speak to the man and his flame-haired companion (who, oddly, didn't seem to be present) for what seemed like an eternity, especially on the timeless sands of the desert planet, which would go for a hundred years without any discernable change.

Still, before he could satisfy the desperate curiosity, there were certain safety measures which needed to be taken. If he was so easy to track down that a man he hardly knew could do it, then the security of both him and Luke Skywalker could be seriously compromised. "Doctor, how did you find me?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I just… guessed." He shrugged, as though it were no big deal, tracking down a man who the galaxy had tossed away with a marking of death years ago. "Tell me, Master Kenobi, how long have you been here? You look like you've adjusted to it well."

"Two years exactly. It's been almost four years since Jabiim, Doctor. What have you and Donna been doing in the meantime?" Had it been anyone else from his past, he probably would have been more concerned about being found, but there was something about the Doctor's casual response that fit perfectly with the image of mystery built up upon him, an image which wasn't associated with the Sith by any stretch of imagination. The Doctor would have to be better at shielding his emotions than Anakin had been, and somehow, Obi-Wan had a feeling that this wasn't the case.

"Four years already? Seems like just a few days to me." The Doctor frowned and shrugged, although he didn't look too worried. "Anyway, we haven't been up to… much. Donna isn't with me anymore." At Obi-Wan's questioning glance he added, "She's back home, with her mum and granddad. It was for the best, really."

Even through the ever-present, strong barriers around his emotions and thoughts, Obi-Wan could detect the sadness in him as he spoke of Donna, and so he decided not to press the point, although he couldn't resist asking, "Back home? On Coruscant?"

The Doctor chuckled and gazed out at the darkening sky above them. "Yeah, you've probably realized by now that was a lie."

"I suspected as much, yes." Another silence fell over them, this one more comfortable and without the heaviness of their individual ponderings weighing over them like before. "So tell me, Doctor, what brought you here?"

"Oh, not much. I was just checking in; making sure everything went okay. You know, that you were doing well out on Tatooine, and all that."

"I think I've settled in well." It certainly hadn't been easy, or anything close to fun, but after two years he was used to the comfortable routine of his days, and used to playing the part of a strange old hermit.

"Yeah, I can see that you have. That's good." The Doctor nodded towards Obi-Wan's small hut, which he had taken residence in soon after coming to the planet, before stretching his arms and turning back to the TARDIS. "Well, if everything's alright, I guess I'd best be on my way."

"Going? You just arrived! I have so many questions." He had been waiting too long to let the chance to find answers just slip through his grasp. "Doctor, you and Donna… did you know? Know about Palpatine, and the Sith, and Anakin turning, I mean. And if you did, why didn't you warn us? Donna started to, I think, but in the end she didn't. I don't understand." Two years gone by, when his days were filled with little better to do than to meditate and dwell upon the past, and to try to make sense of Donna's parting words, but there had been none. If she –they—really had known about the Sith's plans, why had neither of them spoken up? It seemed so unlikely that they were evil, and yet Obi-Wan could think of no reason why a person with any sort of affiliation to goodness would have kept the knowledge of such genocide hidden.

The Doctor sighed and shook his head as he leaned against the TARDIS. "Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're a great man, you know that? And let me tell you, it doesn't end here for you. Luke –yeah, I know about Luke too, and don't worry, the Empire won't find him. Luke is going to rise up and bring the Jedi with him. There'll be a new Order, and new Masters, and they're going to remember you. Old Ben Kenobi, who taught Grandmaster Luke what the Force was. Everything that's happened, and everything you do is leading up to this new era, and it'll be _fantastic_. A bit of your famous Jedi patience goes a long way, and the years will fly by. It'll be happening before you know it."

"But that doesn't matter!" He didn't even bother to comment upon the likelihood of what the Doctor said happening. "Why didn't you tell somebody before? I would have been able to save so many lives." And it was highly possible that the Doctor's words were untrue. Although they seemed sincere to Obi-Wan, he had proved long ago that he wasn't as good at understanding a person's emotions as he thought he was.

"Don't you see, Obi-Wan? I couldn't. The Jedi wouldn't have become as great as they're going to be. You weren't ready. I can only imagine how much you've lost, and I am so, so sorry for that, but great things rise from ashes. I know you probably don't have any reason to, but trust me on this." His eyes begged Obi-Wan to understand him, and in a vague, shadowy way that was based mostly upon what had happened and what could happen, it did start to make a little sense –but that didn't come close to answering all of his questions.

"How did you know, though? How could you? Who _are_ you and Donna?"

The doors to the TARDIS were open now, and the Doctor was stepping inside. Once again, that deep klaxon began to play from some place deep within the ship, and the air around began to shimmer like a hallucination from the desert.

The Doctor was leaning out and shouting to be heard. "G'bye, Master Kenobi! You'll understand one day."

"But why?" He had spent years wondering this, and now the closure he had sought seemed to be slipping away from him, so soon after it had reappeared. "I don't understand –please, just tell me who you are!"

The TARDIS was almost gone now, and the last thing that Obi-Wan saw of it –would ever see of it—was the closing doors and the Doctor's grinning face. "I'm the Doctor!"

Hours later, still standing in the darkness of night, Obi-Wan let go of a wisp of a smile. If the Doctor said everything was going to be all right, he believed him. He just needed a bit of patience.


End file.
